Hugo Ekitike showed true colours with promise to rival boss despite Liverpool red card

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net.

However, his celebration for said goal earned him a second yellow card and a one match ban, which will be served when the Reds play Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.

Speaking after the match, Still revealed that Ekitike had joked he was planning to come on, score, give him a shirt and "bugger off" - and that he'd done exactly that.



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,” Still told reporters.

.

He’s a constant threat, and he’s incredibly annoying to play against.”

Ekitike issued an apology to fans on social media after his sending off, which leaves Arne Slot with a selection dilemma ahead of the weekend given he has already confirmed the Reds will be handling Alexander Isak's minutes carefully due to his dearth of action over pre-season.

But that didn't save him from a dressing down from his manager, who said: “The first one (yellow card) was already needless and to a certain extent stupid because you have to control your emotions, and I know how hard it is if you play in the Premier League and you are a number nine then the defender can almost do everything he wants, and when you push him a little bit you get a free-kick against you.

.

So I think I said when I got my red card against Everton that's always stupid because you can show your emotions but if it leads to a yellow or red then it's, to a certain extent, stupid.

“Then I told him that if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after beating three players and hitting it in the top corner I can maybe understand you say 'it's all about me', but I'm old fashioned, I'm 47, I''m old, and I haven't played at this level but I did score a few goals, and if I scored a goal like this I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and say 'this goal is all about you, this is not about me.'

“So yeah, needless, not smart, you call it stupid and I call it stupid.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content

Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package