Arne Slot has explained why he believes you “cannot compare” Liverpool’s loss at Plymouth with their upcoming FA Cup tie against Barnsley.
Liverpool’s 2024/25 campaign will go down as one of the most memorable in the club’s history as the Reds won their first title in front of fans for 35 years.
In cup competitions, they suffered disappointment, though, losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 and Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.
The FA Cup saw the Reds knock Accrington Stanley out at Anfield before losing away to then Championship outfit Plymouth in the fourth round.
PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 9, 2025: Liverpool's Federico Chiesa walks off after the FA Cup 4th Round match between Plymouth Argyle FC and Liverpool FC at Home Park. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Slot said he is “not sure” if last season’s defeat will act as a warning ahead of Liverpool’s game against third-tier Barnsley, but he does believe the team have learned lessons.
“We all know in FA Cup or in cup competitions, things can happen. You cannot compare Plymouth away with the players we played back then with Barnsley at home,” the head coach commented.
On Monday night, Liverpool will head to Anfield with their first team squad ready for action, unlike their trip to Home Park when they were without a host of senior figures including Virgil van Dijk, Dominik Szoboszlai, Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Slot added: “We take them as we took Plymouth very serious as well.
“People would argue when you look at the lineup [that we didn’t take them seriously], but then I again have to tell them why did we play the League Cup against Crystal Palace with the players we played.
“That is because if we might have played maybe Virgil and these players again, I would have missed out on them maybe tonight as well.”
Against Palace, Slot fielded a very young XI that included the likes of Calvin Ramsay, Kieran Morrison and Trey Nyoni.
With Liverpool out of the League Cup, there are fewer fixtures with which to contend in the early part of 2026, therefore allowing the coach to play a stronger side in the FA Cup.
“My experience of the competition is not yet the most extensive – we played only two games last season before going out – but what it means and what it represents is already very clear,” Slot said in his pre-match programme notes.
“In those two fixtures we learned a lot – about ourselves, about the qualities that lower-division opposition can bring, about how it feels to go through and go out and what the FA Cup means in general.
“These are lessons and experiences that we hope will help us not just tonight, but in every round we get to play.
Barnsley Recent Results
Opponent Result Score
Wigan (A) D 1-1
Lincoln City (H) L 0-2
Mansfield (H) L 2-3
Exeter City (A) L 0-3
Leyton Orient (H) W 3-2
“The starting point for this is to give Barnsley the respect that they deserve. Despite being a young team with a young manager, they already have a reputation for playing good football in League One and they have reached this stage with two very good results against York City and Peterborough.
“Like us, they will view this fixture as an opportunity, particularly as the game will take place in front of a TV audience, which I assume will include a lot of people hoping that there might be an upset.
“Last season we had similar occasions at home to Accrington Stanley and away to Plymouth Argyle so we should definitely use those experiences, good and bad, in this game.”