Liverpool’s Arne Slot slams Hugo Ekitike for ‘unnecessary and stupid’ red card in EFL Cup

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has taken a swipe at Franco-Cameroonian forward Hugo Ekitike, describing his red card in the EFL Cup as “unnecessary and stupid”.

Ekitike, who joined the Premier League giants in the summer made substitute appearances as his side cruised to a 2-1 win over Southampton on Tuesday night in the third round of the Cup competition.

The former Frankfurt star scored the winning goal in the 85th minute after replacing Swedish-Eritrean striker Alexander Isak at Anfield.

Ekitike was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for taking off his shirt during the celebration, having previously received it for dissent at the referee.

The forward, who joined from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, will miss his team’s next match against Crystal Palace on Saturday in the sixth round of the English Premier League.

“It was unnecessary and stupid,” Slot said in the post-match press conference. “The first card was unnecessary and somewhat stupid because you have to control your emotions.”

“I know how difficult it is when you are the number 9 striker, as a defender can to some extent do whatever he wants. It is always best to control your emotions. And if you can’t, do it in a way that doesn’t lead to a yellow card.”

: “I told him, ‘If you had scored a goal in the Champions League final in the 87th minute after passing three players and putting the ball in the corner of the goal, I might have understood.'”

“I’ve never played at this level (in the Premier League) in my life, but I’ve scored a few goals. If I’d scored a goal like that, I would have gone to Federico Chiesa (who set up the goal) and said, ‘This goal is yours, not mine.’ It was an unnecessary, unintelligent thing to do. You call it stupidity, and I immediately called it stupidity.”

Ekitike started for Liverpool at the start of the season, but his position was threatened by the arrival of Isak in a record deal from Newcastle United.