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What was he thinking?

The funniest internet reactions to Hugo Ekitike’s ‘stupid’ red card for Liverpool

Nestor Watach •
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Liverpool fans tended to see the funny side after Hugo Ekitike saw one of the most unnecessary red cards you’ll ever see, receiving a second booking for taking his shirt off in celebration.

Ekitike came off the bench and scored yet another late winner for Liverpool in their League Cup clash at home to Championship side Southampton.

The France international’s first booking was also needless, for kicking the ball away, later shown a second yellow after taking off his shirt with a Messi-esque celebration.

“Needless? Yes. And it was stupid. The first one was already needless and to a certain extent, stupid, as you have got to control your emotions,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot reacted afterwards.

“I told him that 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. 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.’

“It’s always best to control your emotions. If you can’t, do it in a way that doesn’t lead to a yellow card.”

The red card wasn’t especially consequential on the night, as Liverpool comfortably saw out the 2-1 victory, but the one-match suspension for the in-form striker could prove costly for Slot’s Reds as they face high-flying Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Ekitike himself apologised for the moment of madness with a statement posted to his Instagram:

“I was so excited tonight to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao Cup match.

“The emotion got the better of me tonight. My apologies to all the Red family.”

We’ve rounded up the funniest reactions to the daftest red card you’ll see all season:

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