Hugo Ekitike breaks silence over Liverpool red card as Carabao Cup sending off repercussions confirmed
Hugo Ekitike will miss Liverpool’s clash with Crystal Palace after his red card against Southampton.
Liverpool secured their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday thanks to a 2-1 win over Southampton but the result left fans frustrated after Hugo Ekitike was sent off following his winning goal.
The summer signing is settling into his new club nicely and is becoming quite the consistent threat in attack for the Reds. The goal against the Saints marked his fifth of the season and rounded off yet another late comeback for Arne Slot’s team, but what came after will certainly be a moment to forget.
Ekitike will now be forced to miss this weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace in the Premier League after his celebration earned him his marching orders.
Hugo Ekitike apologises for red card incident in Carabao Cup
The 23-year-old had already been shown a yellow card earlier in the game for time-wasting.
After slotting away the chance Federico Chiesa put on a plate for him, Ekitike took off his shirt and held it up to the crowd while celebrating, which earned him a second yellow card.
The France international was sent off under totally unavoidable circumstances and now Liverpool will pay the price of being without his influence when they face the tricky Eagles at the weekend.
Ekitike has not hesitated in apologising for the incident, though. Taking to Instagram after the match, he wrote a statement on his story.
“I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match. The emotion got the better of me tonight.
“My apologies to all the Red family. Thanks to the fans who always support us and to my team-mates for securing the victory.”
Andy Robertson comments on Hugo Ekitike ‘stupidity’
Andy Robertson was handed the captain’s armband against Southampton while Virgil van Dijk was completely rested. Giovanni Leoni also started at centre-back but the summer signing’s debut went far from as planned after he was stretchered off the pitch with a concerning injury.
Slot has confirmed Leoni ‘didn’t feel good immediately’ after the incident but a full confirmation on the severity of the problem is yet to emerge.
Speaking to the media after Liverpool’s win, Robertson was naturally quizzed on Ekitike’s red card.
“I think scoring a goal is always emotional and you always get that emotion. But he's obviously just forgotten he's been booked,” the vice-captain said.
“His first one is stupidity, kicking the ball away, we know the rules around that. Two silly bookings to pick up and now we miss him for Saturday.
“It's silly from his part but he's only young and he will learn from it. Happy that he scored but the last ten minutes were made a bit more difficult being down to ten men. He will learn from it and I am sure he won't do it again.”
Fans may see Alexander Isak start up front for Liverpool against Crystal Palace this weekend. The British record signing scored his first goal in red against Southampton and supporters will hope there is plenty more to come.