3 Liverpool players who simply had to do better in shock FA Cup defeat

Liverpool's dreams of a historic treble crumbled in the most unexpected way on Sunday afternoon, as Arne Slot's side crashed out of the FA Cup at the hands of Plymouth Argyle.

The team propping up the bottom of the Championship table were more than deserved winners at Home Park, with the decisive blow delivered by Ryan Hardie's coolly taken penalty after Harvey Elliott was penalised for flailing his arms in the air.

Hardie could have doubled the lead but instead hit Caoimhin Kelleher's post, and bizarrely there was no real siege of Plymouth's goal at any stage as the much-changed Premier League leaders, who didn't even take Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Alexis Mac Allister and a host of other prominent players down to the south west, created next to nothing.

It was a very flat, lethargic display from Liverpool, who looked bereft of ideas against a team who competed for every ball and implemented the dictionary definition of 'running their socks off'.

Liverpool's season will not be defined by this defeat, far from it, but three players should certainly be fearful of Slot remembering just how bad they were here ahead of an expected shake-up of personnel in the summer.

1. Federico Chiesa

When you're looking to establish in new surroundings, you've got to take every opportunity afforded to you. But for Federico Chiesa, this was a horror-show performance that will do little to improve his chances of earning more minutes under Slot.

The Italian is not the player he was a few years ago, owing to a catalogue of injury problems, but he didn't even look like an international player here let alone one that lit up Euro 2020 just under four years ago.

Chiesa showed no spark, no creativity and no composure as Liverpool eventually lumped the ball into the penalty area looking to break Plymouth's resolve. Luis Diaz wasn't much better on the opposite flank but Chiesa really offered nothing.

2. Diogo Jota

There's been rumours circulating that Diogo Jota will be allowed to leave Liverpool in the summer if a suitable offer is received - if he plays like this on a regular basis, those bids will be swiftly accepted.

Jota has been very good at stretching defences for a number of years but you feel his injury problems have forced him to adapt his game, instead coming short to receive the ball and relying on his ability in tight spaces. That burst of pace he had seems to be no more.

Plymouth marked the 28-year-old extremely well, winning most duels in the air, but he didn't do anything out of the ordinary movement wise. It was laboured, predictable and he gave the ball away a ridiculous amount of times - 11 to be precise.

39% pass completion doesn't really cut it at any level of football and certainly won't do for the best team in the country.

3. Harvey Elliott

Harvey Elliott has been very vocal about his desire to stay at Liverpool and start more first-team games, feeling that he's got all the tools required to contribute from midfield.

To do that, the 21-year-old has got to step up in cup games and show off his skills. Take matches like this by the scruff of the neck, knowing that he's playing with some inexperienced teammates, and prove to Slot that there's life outside of Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and co. Passenger mode is not an option.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what Elliott was here. An expected goals tally of 0.02 and an expected assists tally of 0.04 shows how little he did in the final third and he also conceded the game-altering penalty by sticking his hands above his head for reasons unknown.

READ THE LATEST LIVERPOOL NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP