After Hugo Ekitike was sent off for a second yellow card offence following his goal against Southampton, the Liverpool forward has offered an apology to supporters.
Coming on at half time for Alexander Isak, Ekitike once again made an impact as he scored the winner for Liverpool in the Carabao Cup third round.
His night ended in disappointment, however, as he was dismissed for a second yellow card that was shown when he took his shirt off to celebrate scoring the winner.
The sending-off means he will be suspended for Liverpool’s trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
Ekitike has since taken to Instagram to apologise, writing: “I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory in the Carabao Cup match.
“The emotion got the better of me tonight. My apologies to all the Red family.
“Thanks to all the fans who always support us and to my teammates for secured (securing) this victory!”
Earlier in the game, he had been shown a yellow for kicking the ball away in frustration, and given the nature of his second booking, Arne Slot wasn’t pleased with this attacker.
“It was needless, yes. And it was stupid, yep,” the head coach said.
“The first one was already needless and, to a certain extent, stupid because you have to control your emotions.
“I know how hard it is if you play the Premier League, or any other league in the world, if you are a No. 9, as the defender can do almost everything he wants, but if you push him a little bit you get a free-kick against you.
“But it’s 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 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 card then it’s stupid.
“That’s what happened with the first yellow. Then I told him as well, if you score in the Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand ‘it’s all about me’.
“But I’m old-fashioned, I’m 47, and old, and I haven’t played at this level, but I did score a few goals, and if I would’ve scored goal like this, I would’ve turned around to Federico Chiesa and said, ‘this goal is all about you’.
“Needless, not smart, you call it stupid and I call it stupid as well.”
Like Slot said, why Ekitike needed to take his shirt off is puzzling. Liverpool will miss him at the weekend, but having Isak as a replacement isn’t a bad state of affairs to find yourself in.
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