‘I punished myself’ – Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike on League Cup red card incident | OneFootball

Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike has been in the spotlight following a brilliant start to life at Anfield.

However, the Liverpool centre-forward was in the headlines for the wrong reasons after his gaffe against Southampton in the League Cup.

Ekitike received a yellow card, then later inexplicably took his shirt off to show the Anfield faithful after scoring the winner, earning him another booking and a sending off.

His Liverpool teammates and boss Arne Slot were clearly cross with him, but he revealed that he has made amends for his action.

Ekitike said (via Liverpoolfc.com), “I think that wasn’t smart. Obviously, I punished myself alone, I would say.

“I felt a bit disappointed to watch the boys from home last Saturday.

“But as I said, I apologised to everybody already, to all my teammates. That kind of thing won’t happen again.

“I just move on now, and I’m just looking forward to playing. I just focus on football.”

The former Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain ace has bagged five goals and an assist in eight outings for the Premier League champions.

He will be out to continue that fine start after Alexander Isak’s subdued start opened the route for him to remain in the starting XI when the Reds take on Galatasaray in the Champions League today.

Ekitike, who reportedly earns £250,000 per week, touched on the competition with Isak for a starting berth, saying that it is good for him.

He also revealed he is ready to play together with the Swede, as he has played in two-striker set-ups before.

The Merseyside outfit must be itching to bounce back from their first loss of the season versus Crystal Palace.

They can add three points to their Champions League tally by claiming a scalp against Galatasaray.

Slot’s side will be eyeing a deeper run in Europe after crashing out in the round of 16 against eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain last term.