JuicyTalk
Hugo Ekitike was sent-off after scoring Liverpool’s winner at home to Southampton in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
The Reds won the third-round tie in the 85th minute through Ekitike’s strike from Federico Chiesa’s pass, but their joy turned to anguish when the France international was dismissed.
The £79 million signing from Eintracht Frankfurt will now serve a ban, with manager Arne Slot describing his absence as “far from ideal”.
101GreatGoals.com explains whether Ekitike will be able to play at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, when the 23-year-old will be out and what he has said about the situation.
Hugo Ekitike puts Liverpool back in front!
The forward is sent off for a second bookable offence after taking his shirt off in celebration! 🟥 pic.twitter.com/zLvbU9R4kh
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 23, 2025
Will Hugo Ekitike play vs Palace in the Premier League?
No. The one-match suspension covers all domestic games, meaning the Frenchman will be banned when Liverpool visit Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend.
Why did Ekitike receive a red card in Liverpool vs Southampton?
On as a half-time replacement for British-record £125 million signing Alexander Isak, Ekitike emulated the Sweden international by scoring from a Chiesa pass but then received a second yellow card for removing his top, having been booked eight minutes after coming on for kicking the ball away.
What did Hugo Ekitike say on Instagram?
“I was so excited to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first [EFL] Cup match. The emotion got the better of me .
“My apologies to all the Red family. Thanks to the fans who always support us and to my team-mates for securing the victory.”
What did Liverpool boss Slot say about Hugo Ekitike’s red card?
Slot was extremely unimpressed and addressed the incident in his post-match press conference.
He said:”That was needless and it was stupid. The first one [booking] 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 Premier League or every league in the world, if you are 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 then 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. I think I said when I got my red card against Everton [last season], that is always stupid because you can show your emotions but if it leads to a yellow or a red card then it’s stupid. And that’s what happened in the first yellow.
“I told him as well and I said it to numerous media already, if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand that you’re like, ‘This is all about me, what did I do?’ But I am old fashioned, I’m 47 and old maybe. I haven’t played at this level but I did score a few goals and if I would have scored a goal like this, I would have turned around and walked up to, in this situation, Federico Chiesa and said, ‘This goal is all about you, this is not about me.’ So, yeah, needless, not smart.”
Hugo Ekitike stats
Reims-born Ekitike joined Reims – then a Ligue 1 club – in 2013 and made his debut in October 2020 before moving to Danish Superliga club Vejle Boldklub for the rest of the season in January 2021.
A hamstring injury ruled Ekitike out for 10 matches towards the end of that campaign, and he went on to sign for Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan in July for a deal that became permanent the following June for more than £30m.
PSG only used Ekitike for eight minutes in their opening game of 2023/24 before sending him on loan that February to Frankfurt, where all four of his goals that season came across their final five games, alongside one assist.
After joining Frankfurt permanently for around £14.4m, his breakout season featured 22 goals and 12 assists in 48 matches, including four goals and three assists to help The Eagles reach the Europa League quarter-finals and 15 goals and eight assists in the Bundesliga.
Ekitike has scored five goals in all competitions since joining Liverpool. A France international at youth levels, he won his first senior Bleus caps with two substitute appearances in their September World Cup qualifiers.
