Hugo Ekitike finally responds to Arne Slot criticism as Federico Chiesa Liverpool point made

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Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike was sent off for the Reds during their Carabao Cup win over Southampton, leading to Arne Slot being critical of the attackerLiverpool star Hugo Ekitike has poked fun at his red card and Arne Slot criticism in a social media post. The France international published a post on social media sharing his celebration against Southampton with Federico Chiesa's face on the back of his shirt and the words 'I [heart] Fede'.It comes after the former Eintracht Frankfurt talisman was sent off during the Reds' Carabao Cup win over the Championship side last month.

Ekitike was introduced in the second-half and scored the winning goal to book Liverpool's place in the next round of the competition, but in taking off his shirt in celebration, he was shown a second yellow card.Chiesa superbly controlled a cross-field ball before teeing up the 23-year-old to slot home a second and book their place in the fourth round of the competition.READ MORE: UEFA official launches astonishing personal attack on Jurgen Klopp - 'I never liked him'READ MORE: Liverpool told what they must do to beat Man Utd after three-game slumpIn a carousel of pictures on Instagram, Ekitike offered a glimpse into his life away from the pitch and glare of the television cameras.He displayed his brighter side as he poked fun at the controversial moment by finally giving credit to his Liverpool teammate following criticism from the Dutch head coach.Slot felt that rather than celebrate in that manner, during his playing career he would've shown respect to his teammate who provided the assist for the goal."The first one (yellow card) was already needless and to a certain extent stupid because you have to control your emotions," said Slot."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.Content cannot be displayed without consent"But it is always the best to control your emotions, and if you can't, then do it in a way that doesn't lead to a yellow card.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."After the win, Ekitike did apologise and took to social media straight away following the mishap, he wrote on his Instagram story: "I was so excited to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match."The emotion got the better of me. My apologies to all the Red family."Thanks to the fans who always support us and to my team-mates for this victory!"