Arne Slot says exactly how Hugo Ekitike should have celebrated his goal instead of getting ‘stupid’ red card
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Liverpool got through to the next round of the Carabao Cup but the result was overshadowed by Hugo Ekitike’s red card.
The Reds put on yet another unconvincing performance on Tuesday night, but again, they got the win courtesy of a goal towards the end of the game.
This one came from substitute Ekitike after fellow striker Alexander Isak scored the first, with Liverpool coming away with a 2-1 win.
However, after already being on a yellow, Ekitike, rather bizarrely, took his shirt off during the celebration, meaning that he was given his marching orders before he even had time to put it back on.
This has left manager Arne Slot far from pleased as the striker is now unavailable for their game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, with the Dutchman already sending a warning to Ekitike over how he should have celebrated instead.
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Up until now, Ekitike has had the perfect start to his Liverpool career, and although this is just one small thing, it could have a very big impact.
It also just put a slight dampener on the night and made the trip to Selhurst Park a little more unnerving, with Slot left with decisions to make.
When asked about it after the game, the Dutchman was clearly far from pleased, with his reaction likely meaning that Ekitike will never do anything like this again.
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“I’d hope so [that he won’t do it again]!
I think it’s stupid even if he hadn’t had a yellow card,” Slot told Sky Sports post-game.
“Maybe I am a bit old fashioned, a bit old school, but I scored a few goals, not at this level, but I did score a few and if I outplayed three players and then hit it in the top corner, maybe you can say ‘it’s all about me’.
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“But if I had scored a goal like he did, I would have turned around, walked up to Federico Chiesa and said ‘it’s all about you Federico, great assist, great run, I didn’t have to do a lot.’
“Maybe that is me being old school but it was stupid, not smart in every sense, and the good thing is his teammates helped us get over the line, but now he is suspended for Saturday and that is far from ideal.”
Losing Ekitike is, of course, a bad thing, but their replacement in Isak is not exactly a downgrade by any stretch of the imagination.
But now, the Swede will get a free run at becoming the first-choice striker, at least for one game that is, although it is not yet known whether he can last 90 minutes.
He played 45 minutes against Southampton before being made to do sprints at half-time before coming off, suggesting that he is not quite there yet.
Liverpool will need him to be on Saturday, though, as anything other than a win will be seen as a bad result, with a lot of the blame likely to be shifted onto his suspended teammate.