It was always going to require something remarkable to take the spotlight away from Alexander Isak’s first Liverpool goal.
Hugo Ekitike duly obliged, though not in the manner he would have hoped for. The French striker had replaced Isak at the interval and hit the latest of Liverpool’s slew of late winners this season when scoring from close range to see off a plucky Southampton side.
Yet having been booked for punching the ball into the air soon after his introduction, the forward’s decision to whip off his shirt in celebration in the 86th minute, and hold it aloft in front of the Kop, meant the referee Thomas Bramall brought his night to a premature, and farcical, close with a red card.
Ekitike scores — and is dismissed
Arne Slot will now be without his leading goalscorer at Crystal Palace on Saturday and the Dutchman was less than impressed. He described the first caution as “needless” and “stupid”, then took Ekitike to task for basking in his own glory rather than thanking Federico Chiesa for what was the Italian’s second assist of the tie.
