Liverpool Become FOURTH Premier League Leader To Be Dumped Out Of The FA Cup By A Lower-League Side

Liverpool became the fourth team leading the Premier League to suffer an almighty FA Cup upset on Sunday after falling to a shock 1-0 defeat by Plymouth.

FA Cup Upsets: Liverpool Crash Out To Championship Strugglers Plymouth

In one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history, Arne Slot’s side’s hopes of winning the quadruple were dashed at Home Park when Ryan Hardie’s penalty sent them crashing out at the fourth round stage.

The defeat by Plymouth, who are bottom of the Championship, was the Reds’ fourth defeat of the campaign so far.

1 – Table-topping Premier League teams to lose in the FA Cup against sides from outside the top-flight:

2002 Leeds vs Cardiff
2015 Chelsea vs Bradford
2018 Man City vs Wigan
2025 Liverpool vs Plymouth

Felled. pic.twitter.com/ytoX0rXImN

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 9, 2025

The result also means Liverpool enter the history books for the wrong reasons. It is the fourth time in the history of the FA Cup where the current Premier League leaders have been knocked out of the competition by a team in the top flight.

But when were the other three times this has happened? SportsCasting takes a look at the other three giant-killings when the current Premier League leaders were sent tumbling out of the FA Cup by lower-league sides.

Cardiff 2-1 Leeds (2002)

With Leeds flying high at the top of the Premier League, it looked as if David O’Leary’s side packed with stars would cruise past third-tier Cardiff into the fourth round.

Rio Ferdinand, Hary Kewell and Mark Viduka all represented Leeds that day and many expected a roll-over.

However, despite Viduka scoring first, the Bluebirds roared back 10-man Leeds after Alan Smith was sent off for violent conduct.

Throwback to 2002 at Ninian Park as a then Second Division Cardiff sensationally dumped Premiership leaders Leeds out of the FA Cup 2-1 ⚽#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/uEY20MULbW

— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) January 5, 2024

Goals from Graham Kavanagh and Scott Young completed the famous comeback before violent scenes in the terraces overshadowed the victory before a pitch invasion at the full-time whistle.

The result saw Leeds collapse after this defeat, finishing fifth in the Premier League. Two years later they would be relegated, sparking a 16-year struggle to return to the top flight.

Chelsea 2-4 Bradford (2015)

Roman Abramovich’s globe-trotting Chelsea side were shockingly dumped out of the FA Cup at the hands of Bradford in the 2014-15 campaign, under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho’s Blues were top of the table going into fourth-round tie with the League One side and, like Sunday’s Liverpool side, were aiming for the quadruple.

But Mourinho’s hopes of securing four trophies that season were dashed when Chelsea’s two-goal advantage was wiped out in stunning fashion, with the Bantams shipping four past them on the Blues’ home turf.

It was one of the biggest shocks and most dramatic comebacks in FA Cup history, spelling just the second time the Premier League leaders fell to a lower-league side.

Wigan 1-0 Manchester City (2018)

Just five years after Wigan did the impossible in beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final, the Latics were there again to knock the Premier League leaders out of the competition.

Then in League One, Wigan had to pull out all the stops to deny Pep Guardiola’s relentless City side in their fifth-round tie.

The Latics capitalised on Fabian Delph’s first-half red card before Will Grigg’s winner 11 minutes from time sent City crashing out.

While there would be no FA Cup that season for City, the Premier League leaders would romp to the title, amassing 100 points in emphatic fashion.

But it was Wigan’s day and a FA Cup giant-killing for the ages.