‘He cracks me up, he’s a funny lad’ – Will Still lifts lid on Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike after the Frenchman’s red card against Southampton | OneFootball

Liverpool centre-forward Hugo Ekitike (23) went from hero to zero in a couple of seconds as the Reds secured their spot for the Carabao Cup fourth round at the expense of Southampton on Tuesday. The former Eintracht Frankfurt had just bagged his fifth Liverpool goal in all competitions to hand Arne Slot’s side the lead with minutes on the clock, but his emotions got the better of him as he celebrated by taking his shirt off.

Unfortunately, Ekitike was on a booking, so the referee had no choice but to give him marching orders, which means the Frenchman will miss Saturday’s Premier League away clash against Crystal Palace. Slot was none too pleased with his striker, describing his final action at Anfield as “stupid in every sense“. His opposite number in the Southampton dugout, Will Still, was more candid about Ekitike. The France international was coached by Still, then an assistant manager at Reims, during the 2021-2022 season.

The Southampton manager was effusive in his praise of Ekitike. “Hugo cracks me up, he’s a funny lad”, Still told reporters at Anfield. “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 (…) He’s a constant threat, and he’s incredibly annoying to play against.“

GFFN | Bastien Cheval