Hugo Ekitike on Tuesday apologized to Liverpool fans after he was sent off for removing his shirt following his late EFL Cup winner against Southampton — a celebration labeled “stupid” by head coach Arne Slot.
The 23-year-old new signing slid home Federico Chiesa’s pass five minutes from time to seal a 2-1 win over second-tier Southampton as Liverpool produced another late show at Anfield.
The France forward had replaced ￡125 million (US$168 million) British-record signing Alexander Isak at halftime after the Sweden international opened his account for the club.
Photo: AFP
Ekitike’s first involvement was to be booked for punching the ball away in frustration.
Shea Charles equalized, but Ekitike scored the winner in the 85th minute — wheeling away to the corner flag and removing his shirt before holding it up for the cameras.
Referee Thomas Bramall had no option but to issue a second caution followed by a red card, meaning the forward is to be suspended for the English Premier League leaders’ trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
A shame-faced Ekitike, who signed for the club in July for ￡69 million, said he had got carried away.
“I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup [EFL Cup] match,” he posted on Instagram.
“The emotion got the better of me tonight,” he added. “My apologies to all the Red family.”
“I told him that if you score in the [UEFA] Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand,” Slot said. “He is like: ‘This is all about me, what did I do?’”
“But I am old-fashioned, I’m 47 and old. I never played at this level, but did score a few goals, and if I scored a goal like this, I’d have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said: ‘This goal is all about you, this is not about me,’” he added.
Ekitike has started the season well, with three goals in five Premier League games.
However, he is locked in a battle for a forward slot with Isak and can ill afford to miss games, with the Swede eager to make his mark.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS