Liverpool manager Arne Slot admitted his side fell well short of expectations as they crashed out of the FA Cup with a shock 1-0 defeat to Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle.
Ryan Hardie's 53rd-minute penalty proved decisive at Home Park, condemning the Premier League leaders to just their fourth defeat in 38 games under Slot's management.
The Reds, who made 10 changes to their starting lineup, created very few chances throughout the match as their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple in Slot's first season came to an end.
"It's a great day for Plymouth," Slot told ITV Sport after the match.
Arne Slot gave his reasons for Liverpool's defeat in the FA Cup
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"They had a good gameplan and they deserve all the credit for their performance today. We were not having a very good day, and a result like this is the outcome."
The Dutch manager acknowledged the penalty decision that proved decisive was correct.
"Both teams didn't really create many chances and the game was decided by a penalty that was awarded correctly," he said.
"There wasn't a lot to be happy about," Slot added during his post-match press conference.
"The only thing I was happy about was that the boys kept on fighting for 100 minutes."
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Slot defended his decision to rest key players like Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk ahead of Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
"No, because you never know what will happen if we would have played with our starters over here," Slot insisted when questioned about his team selection.
The Liverpool boss explained the rotation was necessary due to fixture congestion.
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"The last few weeks we have played every single week two times. The upcoming weeks we have to play every single time two games," he said.
He added that the rotated players needed match experience: "These players need game rhythm as well. For them to be ready in the upcoming months, they need game time."
Slot admitted the FA Cup exit was painful for everyone connected to the club.
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"It hurts everyone that's involved with Liverpool, fans, me, players, we were all wanting to be in this competition but if you go out in one of the first possible games that's a setback," he said.
The manager highlighted that while his team fought until the end, they struggled to create meaningful opportunities.
"Maybe the only chances we created were in the last 10-15 minutes, so it wasn't a work rate problem, but we couldn't find openings and chances," Slot reflected.
It took until the third minute of added time for Diogo Jota to register Liverpool's first shot of the game.
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