Talking topics for the FA Cup: Plymouth reveals Liverpool’s lack of depth as Chelsea’s post-Christmas agony continues

Plus: Newcastle increases their prospects of breaking their 70-year trophy drought; Manchester City defeats Leyton Orient, albeit at a cost; Chelsea’s troubling run continues with a loss to Brighton; and the FA Cup fifth-round draw takes place on Monday at 7.10 p.m. before Doncaster vs. Crystal Palace.

The shock of the FA Cup revealed Liverpool’s lack of depth.

The question of whether Liverpool could pull off the quadruple was being debated only a few days ago. The question now is whether they have the depth and strength to win this season on several fronts.

Arne Slot was confident enough to bench players like Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah after making ten changes for the trip to Plymouth.

As Liverpool’s benchwarmers struggled to defeat the bottom-place team in the Championship in the second half at Home Park, he would have wished he could have summoned his Egyptian monarch.

Would Liverpool be at this point without Salah, who has scored 60% of their Premier League goals this season?

Slot later defended his choice, emphasizing the importance of giving his starting lineup a break amid a demanding schedule and giving their backups some much-needed playing time.

However, he also noted that many of same backup players had a chance in Liverpool’s last Champions League match, which guaranteed them a spot in the round of 16, yet they lost that match as well.

Since many of the young players are inexperienced, they shouldn’t be singled out for criticism. However, there were also older players on the field who didn’t appear to be at the necessary level.

Among them was Federico Chiesa. A player who had to wait his turn but did little to demonstrate his readiness for significant playing time. Darwin Nunez did not score from the bench, and Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota did not make much of an impression over the ninety minutes.

When Liverpool can increase their lead in the Premier League to nine points on Wednesday, expect the big names to return for the Merseyside derby. However, how many of the top players on Sunday can Slot rely on to step in if they are pushed out during the run-in?

Both Tottenham and Aston Villa have injuries.

Isn’t the ability to resolve issues that come up during the season a key component of top-level management? Change or perish. Look for a method.

Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham, meanwhile, are not adaptable. After this loss, the Spurs manager once again cited his injury list, but the show of pity is getting old. Ezri Konsa joined Villa’s long list of absences, leaving them without a center-back to choose from at the end of the game. Nevertheless, Unai Emery managed to convince his squad to play his style of football while simultaneously securing their defense’s key points. That’s how issues are resolved.

Tottenham are 14th in Premier League – 16 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and are now out of both cup domestic cup competitions. The final three months of this season are going to be a slog for followers of this football team with nothing domestically to play for.

It truly is Europa League or bust for Tottenham’s season now, with or without Postecoglou in the dugout.

It’s thrilling enough to advance to the fifth round, but Aston Villa supporters are hankering even more after the cameos of newcomers Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio.

“This is probably the best squad we’ve ever had,” Jacob Ramsey, who opened the scoring in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham, told the BBC following the match.

“You see Rashford come on and (Donyell) Malen starting on the bench. It’s incredible how deep the squad is.

“You see Rashford come on and (Donyell) Malen starting on the bench. It’s incredible how deep the squad is.

“The beginning men have to raise their levels as the players come  for big threat.”

Chelsea scored four goals in their most recent meeting with Brighton, which took place in late September. They were all taken by Cole Palmer. Most importantly, they were vying to be the best entertainers in the Premier League.

The output of the Blues now seems to have stopped. Chelsea has taken the lead and failed to complete the victory five times since Christmas. Against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Manchester City, and now Brighton, leads have been thrown away due to missed points.

Chelsea’s FA Cup exit followed Gary Neville’s accusation that they blew an opportunity at the Etihad during their most recent loss to City.

They played a Brighton team that gave up seven goals the previous weekend. On Saturday, their goalie put one in his net after five minutes, and captain Lewis Dunk was substituted at halftime to further weaken the Seagulls’ defense. However, Chelsea only managed one attempt on goal, and that was only four minutes into the game.

Palmer was negated after scoring four goals in their previous meeting. With 33 touches, Christopher Nkunku had the second-lowest total among Chelsea’s starts, indicating his rustiness. He didn’t have a shot during the entire game, either.

Nicolas Jackson might return.

Manchester City survived Leyton Orient’s scare from the first half to progress into the fifth round – but it came at a cost.

Their £50m Deadline Day signing Nico Gonzalez – who was dubbed as Rodri’s replacement as he continues his comeback from injury – lasted 22 minutes before limping off the pitch on his debut.

Nico was grabbed on the ball before Jamie Donley’s shot from just inside the halfway line gave his team a shocking lead. Nico then left the field with what appeared to be a hip or lower back injury.

A whirlwind debut for the 23-year-old, who has quickly learned what English football could have in-store for him.

“I think Nico understood immediately what the Premier League is and referees,” Pep Guardiola said after the game. ” I don’t know how hard the shot was but he couldn’t continue.”