Arne Slot Ignores Ekitike Goal, Calls Him “Stupid” for Unnecessary Red Card

Liverpool defeated Southampton to progress to the next round of the Carabao Cup. Alexander Isak broke the deadlock two minutes before half-time with his first goal for the club. Against all odds, Shea Charles drew Southampton level in the 76th minute. Hugo Ekitike scored the winner in the 85th minute but was shown a straight red card for removing his shirt during the celebration.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot criticised Ekitike’s red card, calling it “stupid” and “needless.”

“That was ‘needless’, yes. And it was ‘stupid’. Yeah, it was. 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 in the Premier League, or any league in the world as a No.9, then the defender can almost do everything he wants. And then when you shirt pull a little bit or 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 cannot control your emotions, do it in a way that doesn’t lead to a yellow card,” Slot said, as quoted on the Liverpool FC website.

Slot also praised Federico Chiesa, who provided two assists in the match.

“That’s what you want to see. I can completely accept that a team playing together for the first time, with players who haven’t played for a long time, might not play perfectly as a unit.

But what I always want to see is players who try and work hard. So I said at half time: for me, it is completely not a coincidence that Federico picked up the ball and assisted the first goal, because he was the one, in my opinion, most involved in the game, tried the most, worked the hardest.

And then again, it wasn’t a coincidence that he made the deep run for the second assist. Great ball by Robbo [Andy Robertson], by the way who has also won so much at this club and understands how to approach a game like this: don’t underestimate it, just always be ready to play.

That’s also the way to get yourself back into the team or earn as many minutes as you want. That’s why I was happy with a few individual performances but far from happy with a few others,” he added.

Liverpool now turn their attention to the Premier League, where they will take on Crystal Palace on Saturday, 27th September. Both sides remain unbeaten this season.