Arne Slot, Liverpool boss, slams Ekitiké after red card: "Stupid" | OneFootball

On Tuesday, Liverpool defeated Southampton in the third round of the English League Cup, with a score of 2-1, at Anfield. After the match, coach Arne Slot criticized striker Hugo Ekitiké, who was sent off for receiving two yellow cards.

"Unnecessary? Yes. And it was stupid. The first one was already unnecessary and, to some extent, stupid, because you need to control your emotions. I told him that if you score in the Champions League final at the 87th minute, after dribbling past three players and sending the ball into the corner, then maybe I would understand him acting like: 'This is all about me, what I did," said Arne Slot in an interview with Sky Sports.

At Anfield, Alexander Isak opened the scoring for Liverpool, still in the first half. In the second half, Shea Charles equalized for Southampton. At the 40th minute, Federico Chiesa received a beautiful pass from Andrew Robertson and passed to Hugo Ekitiké. With the goal open, the Frenchman simply rolled the ball into the back of the net, securing the home team's victory.

However, the striker, who had already received a yellow card for complaining, took off his shirt in celebration and was sent off.

"I'm old school, I'm 47 years old and I'm old. I never played at this level, but I scored some goals and, if I had scored a goal like that, I would have turned and walked up to Federico Chiesa saying: 'This goal is all about you, not about me'," concluded Arne Slot.

As a result, Ekitiké will miss Liverpool's match this Saturday, at 11 a.m. (Brasília time), when they visit Crystal Palace, for the sixth round of the English Championship, at Selhurst Park.

Liverpool's Top Scorer this Season

Signed from Eintracht Frankfurt, 23-year-old Hugo Ekitiké is Liverpool's top scorer at the start of this season, with five goals scored in eight matches, plus one assist. The Frenchman is also the team's leading scorer in the English Championship, with three goals in five rounds.

However, Ekitiké faces competition from Swedish Alexander Isak, announced in early September as the biggest signing in English football history. With the Frenchman's absence for this Saturday's match, Isak may make his debut as a starter in the English Championship.

Liverpool's Schedule

Standings

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.