Liverpool Boss Furious at Ekitike; Isak Ready to Pounce on Starting Spot

24 September-Kolkata, India: Liverpool’s Dutch manager Arne Slot criticised Frenchman Hugo Ekitike for his red card offence, after receiving two consecutive yellow cards in Liverpool FC’s narrow 2-1 win over Southampton FC in the third round of the EFL Cup at Anfield. The French striker is now in the crosshairs to lose the main spot to Liverpool’s big signing this year and Swedish striker Alexander Isak.

The Frenchman Ekitike came on as a substitute for the Swedish striker Isak, who scored his first goal for the Reds in the 43rd minute, just a minute before half-time. But the French striker immediately made his mark after scoring the winning goal for the Reds in the 85th minute, cancelling out Shea Charles equaliser for Southampton FC in the 76th minute.

Ekitike criticised by Arne Slot

After scoring the winning goal and giving for the Reds in the 85th minute, the Frenchman ran towards the home supporters to celebrate by putting his shirt up in the crowd. However, the Frenchman was already booked once, was booked again and was sent off by the referee.

Liverpool’s manager was furious with the incident and celebration of Ektitike, where he criticised the striker for a “stupid” celebration. Later at a post match press-conference, he said “It is not [stupid] because it was his second [yellow] – it’s stupid even if you haven’t had a yellow card yet,” he said. “Maybe I’m a bit old-fashioned but I did score a few goals – not at his level but I did – and if I went past three players and put it in the top corner then maybe you can say ’this is all about me’.”

He later added that “But if I scored a goal like he did tonight, I would turn to Chiesa and say ‘it’s about you Federico – great assist, great run and I didn’t have to do a lot’. Maybe that’s me being old-school.“It was stupid, not smart in every sense. The good thing is that his team-mates helped him to get the win over the line, but the thing is he is now suspended for Saturday and that is far from ideal.”

Ekitike apologised to the fans

The £69 million French striker who joined Liverpool this summer from Eintracht Frankfurt, already scored 4 goals for the Reds and later apologised to Slot and the Liverpool fans by posting a statement on Instagram that “I was so excited to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match. The emotion got the better of me. My apologies to all the Red family. Thanks to the fans who always support us and to my team-mates for this victory.”

Liverpool’s gonna face Crystal Palace in the upcoming game at the English Premier League(EPL) on Saturday.