ITV were forced to quickly apologise after Plymouth's Nikola Katic said "I f***ing love it" twice following their FA Cup win over Liverpool. The Championship strugglers were given little hope of overcoming the Premier League leaders. No team in the Football League had shipped more than the Devon outfit this term but they secured a shock victory over the Reds, with their defence crucial. Ryan Hardie's second-half penalty gave the Pilgrims the lead and they held on to secure a memorable victory as Home Park erupted. Emotions were heightened and Katic, who was instrumental at the heart of defence, twice swore during his interview after the final whistle with emotions heightened.
ITV host Mark Pougatch needed to jump in and he said: "Sorry about the industrial language". Plymouth's backline and goalkeeper were sensational with Conor Hazard needed to produce a stunning second-half save from a close range header. Hardie, scorer of the winning goal, said: "We all came here today with a dream and we have done it. I don’t know what to say." On his penalty he added: "There is obviously a lot of pressure. It is about picking your side, and I committed to it.".
Midfielder Callum Wright - himself a Liverpool fan - said: “Solid. The gaffer has brought them [Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov] in to strengthen us until the end of the season and they are doing that. I started to get nervous, but as soon as we were 1-0 up we had to stick with it.". Plymouth have become the first side from outside of the Premier League to eliminate the team who sat top of the top flight since Wigan shocked Pep Guardiola's Manchester City back in February 2018. It's also the first time Liverpool have been knocked out of the competition by a lower-league opponent whilst being top of the table since 1984 - when they were beaten by Brighton.
It also ends any hopes Liverpool had of securing the quadruple. Their sensational season under Arne Slot meant all four trophies were on offer. The Reds hold a comfortable lead in the Premier League, are into the Carabao Cup final and await their opponents in the Champions League knockouts. However their FA Cup ambitions are now over. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
