Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was not happy with match-winner Hugo Ekitike’s “stupid” red card in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Southampton.
The 23-year-old replaced Alexander Isak, after the £125 million (€143 million) British record signing opened his account, at half-time, but his first involvement was to be booked for punching the ball away in frustration.
And when he slid home Federico Chiesa’s pass five minutes from time to put Liverpool ahead again after Shea Charles had equalised, he wheeled away to the corner flag and removed his shirt before holding it up for the cameras.
It left referee Thomas Bramall with little option but to issue a second caution followed by the red card, meaning the Frenchman will be suspended for the Premier League leaders’ trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
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“Needless? Yes. And it was stupid. The first one was already needless and to a certain extent, stupid, as you have got to control your emotions,” said Slot.
“I told him that if you score in the Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner I can maybe understand. He is like, ‘This is all about me, what did I do’.
“But I am old-fashioned, I’m 47 and old. I never played at this level but did score a few goals and if I scored a goal like this, I’d have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said, ‘This goal is all about you, this is not about me’.
“It’s always the best to control your emotions. If you can’t, do it in a way that doesn’t lead to a yellow card.”
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Ekitike apologised for his dismissal, saying emotion got the better of him.
He posted on Instagram: “I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match… The emotion got the better of me tonight. My apologies to all the Red family.”
The red card was the second low point as 18-year-old debutant Giovanni Leoni, who had enjoyed a trouble-free night, was carried off on a stretcher with a serious-looking knee injury and will undergo a scan to determine the damage.
“He is down because, for him, it didn’t feel good immediately. Normally the emotions of a player tell you a lot,” added Slot.
Amid all the late mayhem Isak’s expertly-taken maiden goal just before the break was almost forgotten.
“I should have scored earlier as well. It is part of being a striker, you miss some and score some,” the Swede told ITV.
“I feel confident in myself that things will work out and when I get chances I will put them away.”
Slot, joking that no one mentions Isak’s transfer fee, added: “It is only six or seven days ago he made his debut so time goes so fast, but we got him not in the best circumstances in terms of match fitness (as he missed Newcastle’s pre-season).
“So the best moments will hopefully start when he comes back from the Sweden national team [next month] – then we can expect even more from him, but until now I’m very happy.”
Southampton boss Will Still at least saw the funny side of the red card for Ekitike, whom he had as a player at Reims.
“Hugo cracks me up. We caught up before the game and he said he would come on and score and give me his shirt and b****r off,” he said.
Still was frustrated his side did not help themselves.
“We had a massive chance, hit the crossbar, somehow not put the ball in the back of the net and 30-40 seconds they have gone up the other end and we have put it on a plate for them,” he said.
“It sums up our season so far. We seem to keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
