‘What was he thinking?’ Trying To Understand Hugo Ekitike’s Liverpool Moment of Madness | OneFootball

Ekitike red card highlights needless emotions in Liverpool win

Needless suspension raises questions

Liverpool’s Carabao Cup victory over Southampton should have been remembered as another sign of progress under Arne Slot. Alexander Isak’s first goal for the club provided the headline, yet Hugo Ekitike managed to shift the focus with a needless red card that has left his manager fuming and his team a striker short for the weekend.

The 23-year-old’s dismissal was entirely self-inflicted. Having already been booked for punching the ball into the air in frustration, Ekitike chose to remove his shirt and hold it aloft after scoring an 85th-minute winner. The second yellow card was inevitable and so was Slot’s anger. “It was needless and stupid,” the Liverpool boss said afterwards. “I told him if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it into the top corner, I can maybe understand that you are like ‘This is all about me’. But if I had scored a goal like this, I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said: ‘This goal is all about you, not about me’. So needless, not smart. You call it stupid, I call it stupid as well.”

Self-belief spilling over

Andy Robertson echoed his manager’s frustration, pointing out that both bookings were avoidable. The first yellow card came from a tussle with Nathan Wood where Ekitike let his emotions show. “The first one was already needless and, to a certain extent, stupid because you have to control your emotions,” Slot explained. “I know how hard it is if you play No 9. The defender can almost do everything he wants and then when you shirt pull or push him a little bit then you get a free kick against you. It’s always best to control your emotions and if you cannot, do it in a way that does not lead to a yellow card.”

Yet for all the frustration, there was a sense of why the player reacted as he did. Ekitike has five goals in eight games since arriving from Eintracht Frankfurt. Watching from the bench as Isak opened his Liverpool account, he may have felt compelled to underline his own importance.

Strikers competing for spotlight

Ekitike and Isak represent a rare dynamic. One cost £69 million, the other £125 million, yet both joined in the same summer, both competing for the same role. The Frenchman has embraced the competition with a self-assured streak, evident in his celebrations and his confidence on the pitch. His gestures, from the bow in the Merseyside derby to the hand signal in the Community Shield, reflect a striker unafraid to show personality.

Photo: IMAGO

Former manager Will Still, who coached him at Reims, summed it up best. “Hugo cracks me up, he’s a funny lad,” he said. “We caught up before the game, and he said he’d come on and score, give me a shirt and bugger off, which is exactly what he’s done. Fair play to him. We sold him to PSG for £50m, so we knew he’d got a bit about him and he’d scored a lot of goals for us as well. He’s a constant threat, and he’s incredibly annoying to play against.”

Photo IMAGO

That blend of arrogance and effectiveness is part of what makes him a dangerous forward. It is also why his red card feels like a step too far.

Slot’s selection dilemma

Slot has avoided answering the Isak-Ekitike question directly so far, rotating them while the Swedish striker built fitness. But as Isak becomes sharper, decisions must be made. Can they play together? Will Ekitike move wide? Does the system change to accommodate both?

For now, the ban removes any choice. Isak will start at Crystal Palace, yet if he cannot last the full game, the bench looks thin. Before Isak’s arrival, Liverpool struggled when Ekitike was withdrawn, most notably against Palace in the Community Shield.

Ekitike apologised afterwards, admitting on social media that his “emotions got the better” of him. That honesty will be appreciated, but the consequences are still real. His red card hands Isak a platform to stake his claim as Liverpool’s first-choice striker, and in the long run, that could prove costly.

For a player who has made such a strong start at Anfield, the lesson is clear. Confidence is vital for a No 9, but control is just as important. On Tuesday night, Ekitike lost that balance and Liverpool must now deal with the fallout.