Jurgen Klopp does not have much of a love affair with the FA Cup, having been knocked out in the third round in his first three seasons with Liverpool, and now in the fourth after his side's meek 2-1 defeat to Wolves at Molineux on Monday night.
Klopp made wholesale changes to his starting eleven for the tie, starting youngsters Rafa Camacho, Curtis Jones as well as giving a run out to fringe players such as Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge.
It showed on the night as Liverpool failed to find their rhythm, in a disjointed display.
The loss of Dejan Lovren also had an effect on the quality of the back line, with Dutch 16-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever having to deputise after the Croatian was substituted in the opening minutes of the match.
After the game, former Liverpool centre back Jamie Carragher tweeted about the result, writing that although the Reds wasted another chance to get some much needed silverware in their cabinet, the fact that the club now has only two competitions to focus on could be a key factor in the title race:
I have no problem with the LFC selection from JK & would rather we had won but, we have the best chance we’ve had in years of winning the PL & it may be yrs before we’re in this position again. The big chance we have is not the 4 point lead but MC/THFC playing a lot more games
I have no problem with the @LFC selection from JK & would rather we had won but, we have the best chance we’ve had in years of winning the PL & it may be yrs before we’re in this position again. The big chance we have is not the 4 point lead but MC/THFC playing a lot more games
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) January 7, 2019
The 'big chance' Carragher references can not be underplayed, and with Manchester City likely to get to at least the next rounds of the Carabao and FA Cup, that would mean an extra four games for Pep Guardiola's team.
Paul Merson perhaps took Carragher's point too far last week when he claimed that Liverpool should exit the next round of the Champions League in order to boost their title charge, but you do sense that Liverpool's title challenge could hinge as much on the fitness of their key players as the fitness of Man City's.
Either way, Jurgen Klopp clearly has the FA Cup far down on his list of priorities, and with the opportunity to end a 28 year wait for a league title, could you blame him?
