Plymouth Argyle‘s participant of the match Nikola Katic praised his goalkeeper Conor Hazard‘s heroics as they dumped Liverpool out of the FA Cup, revealing he “used to hate” his teammate owing to Previous Agency rivalries earlier than the shock 1-0 win.
Katic and Hazard had been the standout performers because the Championship’s backside facet eradicated Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders within the fourth-round tie that was finally determined by Ryan Hardie’s second-half penalty.
Most of the Plymouth followers at House Park would have feared the worst when the fourth official’s board confirmed 9 extra minutes on the finish of the 90 minutes, however Hazard made a string of wonderful saves — specifically from Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez — to see his facet proceed their epic run regardless of their tribulations in English soccer’s second tier.
“Because of this I got here right here. it’s good to get confidence of this win. We did good with the defensive construction and everyone gave their 100%,” Katic stated to ITV. “We did what the coach requested from us. That’s it.”
“I hated Hazard after I received right here as a result of he is a Celtic man and I am an enormous Rangers man, however he gave us this win right this moment.”
Katic performed for Rangers in Scotland from 2018 to 2021 earlier than shifting on a everlasting deal to Zurich in 2022. He joined Plymouth on mortgage from the Swiss outfit within the January switch window as they give the impression of being to stave off relegation to League One.
Miron Muslic, the Plymouth supervisor, lauded the efforts made by Katic, Hazard and the remainder of his gamers after the outcome.
“Speechless — and usually they inform me I am eloquent,” he joked. “One other chapter in Argyle’s historical past. The will to defend, it is Liverpool — they are going to be on you. However the lads are unbelievable.
“It is a massive second. I feel I’ll solely realise that after I depart the stadium tonight, after I get again to my condominium for a quiet second.
“We additionally wanted a little bit of luck, and we had that however I really feel we deserve this right this moment. It is a magical day for us. However we now have to go once more on Wednesday [against Millwall in the Championship]. We confirmed a togetherness right this moment. I feel we’re prepared.”
