Photo: Federico Chiesa's reaction to Hugo Ekitike red card goes viral as Liverpool fan spots unseen moment
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Hugo Ekitike’s red card was widely criticised by pundits and left some of his teammates in disbelief.
The Frenchman had been booked earlier in the game for hitting the ball away in frustration, and when he scored the winning goal received a second yellow card for taking his shirt off in celebration.
Arne Slot had spoken after the game, labelling his decision to celebrate in that way as ‘needless and stupid’, given he was already in the referee’s book and felt he should have gone over to thank Federico Chiesa for giving him a tap-in.
Chiesa put on another great performance against Southampton in the League Cup and proved to the manager why he deserves to have a more pronounced place in the squad.
While his fellow Italian Giovanni Leoni went down injured during the game, it means that he will likely be placed into the Champions League squad.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
The 27-year-old has struggled to make his desired impact at Liverpool since joining last year because he has not been started by the manager in many games.
When he has had his opportunities, he has shown his amazing qualities, including very recently against Bournemouth, scoring a late winner.
After Chiesa landed his second assist of the game to Ekitike, he saw the French international receive another yellow card, which led to him leaving the field.
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Supporter and photographer Paul Moran caught the moment the popular winger realised what the cost of the celebration was and shared this image.
The caption read: “Just noticed on one of the pictures I took on Tuesday, look at Chiesa reacting to Ekitike getting the red card after he scored.”
As fans can see, the player was so dismayed that he decided to put his head into the chest of the Saints player Joshua Quarshie.
These passionate reactions and his performances are the reasons he has endeared himself to the Anfield crowd, with his song sung at any given opportunity.
After getting two assists this week and providing a high amount of energy for 90 minutes, he should really have an opportunity to start against Crystal Palace.
However, it is very unlikely to happen with Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah all but securing their places on the wings.
An appearance off the bench could be vital for the Reds, given how difficult Palace have proved to score against when they have faced them recently.
A confident Chiesa, who has already had a late winner this season, could be perfect for breaking down this Oliver Glasner side.