And on this whistle, unleash chaos. Nobody really knows how Plymouth Argyle managed to survive those nine minutes of injury time at the end of this cup tie, those minutes when hearts were pounding and nerves were shredding and the thing felt so elusive and so close all at once. Just as nobody had really seen this coming: the team rooted to the foot of the Championship, hosting perhaps the best team in the world right now, and sending them spectacularly to the canvas. Ryan Hardie’s penalty early in the second half was the difference between the sides. Even then, nobody really believed. But as those nine minutes ticked away, one of the greatest shocks in the modern history of the FA Cup was finally within grasp.
And then the chaos. Home Park lifted off its hinges, a roar that carried all the way across the Riviera, a mess of limbs and lungs, memories that will last a lifetime. On the touchline, Arne Slot magnanimously shook the hand of Miron Muslic, the man who had just orchestrated this unlikeliest of underdog triumphs. For Slot and his players there will be pressing questions to answer about selection and application, a weakened line-up that should still have got the job done. Instead Liverpool played like exactly what they were: a team that had barely played together before. For a team that is basically built on chemistry, understanding instincts honed and shared, this is a bigger problem than it would be somewhere else. Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota struggled for rhythm against a rugged Plymouth back five. Federico Chiesa looked lost on the right wing. An early injury to Joe Gomez was suboptimal. Darwin Núñez offered little off the bench. And with the senior players rested, there was little firepower to add once the first wave had failed so comprehensively. And all the while, the hills were alive with the sound of Muslic. The new Plymouth coach may only have been in the job for a month, but already he has infused the club with the vigour so lacking under his predecessor Wayne Rooney. There is a kind of alpha magnetism to the bearded Austrian, a coach who talks a lot about “courage” and “balls”, who looks like the sort of guy who will try and sell you a 12-part online course on how to unlock your inner wolf.
