Did the mighty Argyle start Liverpool’s demise?

Who remembers the excitement surrounding the day when that FA Cup draw was made, and Argyle was drawn against one of the most famous teams in English football? Not even the most optimistic of fans would truly have thought there was a chance of Argyle triumphing against the team that had recently put Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to the sword. Everyone knew it would be a great occasion for the city of Plymouth, and giant killings do occasionally happen in the FA Cup, making for an exciting game for the lucky fans who managed to get tickets and visit one of the most famous stadiums in the world.

Although some of Liverpool’s top players had been rested, they still had some big names in there, such as international players that had played at the top level for some time now. The likes of Lucas Leiva, the Brazilian international, Emre Can who has featured for Germany, and Divock Origi who had played a number of games for Belgium, are a few to be named. They all started the game, but they couldn’t seem to break through due to the heroic performances of their opponents. Even bringing on the world class talents of Sturridge, Firmino and Lallana wasn’t enough. Great defending from the front to the back, ensured that Liverpool were denied time after time at their home ground, Anfield.

When the final whistle was blown, everyone in the ground seemed fairly shocked. How did Liverpool not score? Why were they so poor? It must have had a significant impact on their confidence, because that result led on to a streak of poor performances and pitiable results for the team that had been flying high before the FA Cup fixture against Argyle.

After that game, they went on to lose to Southampton (who later knocked them out of the League Cup), Wolves (who knocked them out of the FA Cup) and unexpected Premier League defeats to Hull, Swansea, and recently Leicester. Liverpool had looked genuine title contenders until the Argyle tactics and performance knocked them for six. You might even consider that Premier League managers watched that specific game to see how it was possible to contain Liverpool, as the big teams had failed to do so at that stage. It seems as if Liverpool got caught out that day at Anfield, when the game was supposed to be forgone conclusion.

There is still time for Liverpool to turn their season around, but it does seem quite a strange run of performances after doing so well at the start of the season. Once the confidence goes, it’s difficult to reclaim, and maybe Argyle should take credit in knocking Liverpool down, which the likes of Chelsea and such failed to do so. Hopefully for Liverpool, they will be able to find their form again, but Jurgen Klopp will not be hoping for a draw against the mighty Plymouth Argyle in next season’s cup, that’s for sure!