Hugo Ekitike warned by Liverpool team-mate after ‘silly’ red card

He has enjoyed a close to flawless start to life at Liverpool, but £79 million man Hugo Ekitike made a huge error for the Reds in their League Cup triumph against Southampton

Andrew Robertson has warned “silly” Hugo Ekitike he must learn quickly after his red card nearly cost Liverpool a place in the League Cup. The Frenchman has enjoyed an exceptional start to life at Anfield since his £79 million move from Eintracht Frankfurth this summer.

Arne Slot started the Frenchman on the bench in the Reds’ 2-1 victory over Southampton in the third round of the League Cup. Alexander Isak scored his first goal for the Reds on the stroke of half-time, but the Frenchman came off the bench to net the winning goal after Shea Charles equalised in the 76th minute.

It was another huge goal for Ekitike, but the striker almost undid his hard work by taking his shirt off in celebration. He forgot he had already been booked earlier in the game for kicking the ball away in frustration, resulting in him being shown a second yellow card, followed by a red.

READ MORE: Arne Slot left with major headache as Hugo Ekitike SENT OFF for ridiculous reasonREAD MORE: Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike fire Liverpool past Southampton before red card drama

Team-mate and fellow summer signing Jeremie Frimpong was wide-eyed with fury as he watched Ekitike remove his top. He was not as angry as Slot, who could be seen taking a deep exhale to calm himself down, before ignoring Ekitike as he shuffled off the pitch.

In his post-match interview, Robertson had some stern words for the striker, who has five goals and one assist in his first eight matches in all competitions for the Reds. The Scot said: “I’d be very surprised if he does it again.

“I think scoring a goal is always emotional and you always get that emotion. But he’s obviously just forgotten he’s been booked.

“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.”

Ekitike’s red card means he will be suspended for Liverpool’s next Premier League clash against Crystal Palace. He will be a huge miss against the Eagles, who are the only other team in the division to still be enjoying an unbeaten start to the new Premier League campaign.

It could mean Slot will be forced to start Isak for the first time in the Premier League. The Swede’s first half goal was his first strike for the Merseysiders since his controversial switch from Newcastle United.

Slot had been managing the minutes of the ex-Real Sociedad forward, who spent the vast majority of the summer training on his own while trying to force an exit from St. James’ Park.

A matter of minutes after scoring for Liverpool, Slot substituted him off in a bid to manage his minutes. He may not have any choice but to start Isak at Selhurst Park with Ekitike making himself unavailable as a result of his celebration.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.