Paul Scholes plays devil’s advocate to Jamie Carragher claim about Liverpool’s FA Cup exit | OneFootball

Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher had broadly similar verdicts on Liverpool’s exit from the FA Cup on Sunday, although the ex-Manchester United midfielder partially played devil’s advocate to his fellow pundit’s viewpoint.

Ahead of a daunting fortnight containing five Premier League fixtures – including visits to Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City – Arne Slot fielded a much-changed starting line-up for the cup tie against Plymouth Argyle at the weekend, which the Reds lost 1-0.

Henry Winter was among those to question the head coach’s decision to omit the likes of Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch from the matchday squad, with LFC’s substitutes’ bench comprising almost entirely of academy prospects.

Scholes and Carragher debate Liverpool’s FA Cup exit

Despite Liverpool’s humbling FA Cup exit, Carragher viewed the discontinuation of commitments for that competition as a boost to the Reds’ Premier League title hopes.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, he said: “I actually think [Sunday] was just a great day all round. Great for the FA Cup with the giantkilling, great for Plymouth, and I think it’s decent for Liverpool. The way I look at it, does that give Liverpool more chance of winning the league, and I think to a percentage it does.

“I think in the FA Cup, definitely the semi-final and the final, you’ve got to move [league games]. Where does it go? Where do they go?”

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

While Scholes largely agreed with Carragher, he also made the point that losing on Sunday has heaped greater pressure on Slot and Liverpool to beat Everton tomorrow, and that the loss of winning momentum could plant a seed of doubt.

The 50-year-old said: “I agree with what you say about [Sunday] that it’s probably a good thing [for Liverpool], but then you think about momentum. You lose [to Argyle] and all of a sudden there’s a bit more pressure on you on Wednesday. If you drop points on Wednesday, you’re thinking ‘Oh dear’.

“That little bit of momentum you had when you’re going into games winning and winning…it does put a bit of pressure on you, but I’d say you’re probably better out of it.”

It’s never good to lose in any competition

That going out of the FA Cup to the team sitting bottom of the Championship is being viewed as a positive for Liverpool says a lot about how, at the summit of English football at least, the knockout competition is now perceived in relation to the Premier League and Champions League.

Yes, the Reds might now have a less demanding fixture schedule in the spring and won’t have to burden the psychological baggage of chasing down a potential quadruple, something which has proven to be a heavy weight in recent campaigns.

However, a club of LFC’s history and prestige seek to win every trophy possible, and Slot’s annoyance at exiting one tournament has been evident in his subsequent comments.

No team should ever seek to actively lose a football match or want to be beaten, and only when the season is finished will we be able to properly ascertain whether or not the defeat on Sunday was helpful towards Liverpool’s Premier League title pursuit.

Hopefully the Reds can channel the frustraton of losing to Argyle into extra motivation to ensure that the top-flight trophy is presented at a raucous Anfield in May, with the possibility of two other trophies making their way to Merseyside over the next four months.