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 have 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 Residence Park would have feared the worst when the fourth official’s board confirmed 9 further minutes on the finish of the 90 minutes, however Hazard made a string of fantastic 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.
“For this reason 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 obtained right here as a result of he is a Celtic man and I am a large Rangers man, however he gave us this win at this time.”
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 appear 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 need to defend, it is Liverpool — they are going to be on you. However the lads are implausible.
“It is a large second. I feel I’ll solely realise that after I go away the stadium tonight, after I get again to my residence for a quiet second.
“We additionally wanted a little bit of luck, and we had that however I really feel we deserve this at this time. It is a magical day for us. However we have now to go once more on Wednesday [against Millwall in the Championship]. We confirmed a togetherness at this time. I feel we’re prepared.”
