Liverpool manager, Arne Slot has slammed striker, Hugo Ekitike for the needless and stupid red card he got during the Reds 2-1 win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup yesterday, Softfootball reports.
The French forward who joined the club from Frankfurt for a whopping €95million scored a late tap-in from a Federico Chiesa to seal the win late in the second half but his excessive celebrations made the referee give him a second yellow after he removed his shirt.
Earlier, British record signing Alexander Isak had scored his first goal for Liverpool since he joined the club on transfer deadline day but Shea Charles level scores for the visitors at Anfield.
Speaking in the post-match conference as shared via Liverpool’s official media, Slot didn’t hold back as he slammed his start player. Slot said:
What were your two words? That was ‘needless’, yes. And it was ‘stupid’. Yeah, it was. The first one was already needless and to a certain extent stupid, because you have to control your emotions……
I told him as well and I said it to numerous media already, if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand that you’re like, This is all about me, what did I do? But I am old fashioned, I’m 47 and old maybe. I haven’t played at this level but I did score a few goals and if I would have scored a goal like this, I would have turned around and walked up to, in this situation, Federico Chiesa and said, This goal is all about you, this is not about me. So, yeah, needless, not smart. You call it stupid. I call it stupid, by the way, as well.
Ekitike scored Liverpool’s first goal of the new season against Bournemouth in a 4-2 win and has not looked back ever since, scoring three goals in five consecutive wins in the premier league.
Hugo Ekitike will now miss the Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
