Arne Slot had no choice with Hugo Ekitike after downright stupid Liverpool red card

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"You call it stupid. I call it stupid.”

There is no getting away from it: it was downright stupid! No wonder Liverpool boss Arne Slot was not happy with Hugo Ekitike’s red card after his sending-off against Southampton.

It was one of the most bonkers things you are ever likely to see. The Liverpool striker, already on a booking, took his shirt to celebrate a tap-in of a winner - and duly got sent off.

I am watching on the TV and thinking: 'I’m sure he got booked before'. And I bet some of the guys in the press box are thinking: when does this suspension kick in? And did he forget he got booked?

In answer to both questions, he gets suspended for a Premier League game - a tricky one at that against Crystal Palace - and no-one actually really came to his defence.

You can’t blame them either. Andy Robertson is such a great player, such a great bloke and he was vice-captain so led the team on the night.

He was brilliant in the post-match interview with Sky’s Juliette Ferrington and there was no defence - just a case of: well, he won’t do that again.

You bet he won’t. Slot was equally brutal in his presser. He basically said he could almost understand it more if it was a spectacular goal.

But Federico Chiesa did the hard bit and, as Slot rather eloquently put it, it was then not about Ekitike.

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“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.’” said Slot.

“So, yeah, needless, not smart. You call it stupid. I call it stupid, by the way, as well.”

Slot is spot on here. He always looks to protect his players and he duly did - to an extent. He called the first one needless, pointed how hard it is - as he knows all too well himself - to control emotions. But there was no defence for the second. It was plain, well, stupid.

Let’s be clear here… I love to see players celebrate. I hate that “shush” celebration. Who are you telling to be quiet? Shout it from the rooftops.

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And I really like Ekitike. By the way, he’s got a hard task now. Big signing and a lot of pressure. And Alexander Isak is an even bigger signing. And Isak is breathing down his neck.

Now Isak gets a trip to the Palace on Saturday with Ekitike in the stands.

So, I love to see players show emotion, celebrate and do mad things. We’re in the entertainment business, after all. But sometimes, like at Anfield on Tuesday night, you cannot defend them!

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