‘Magnificent’ Liverpool ace slammed for ‘absolutely ridiculous’ moment vs Southampton

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Liverpool just about managed to beat Southampton in their third-round Carabao Cup clash on Tuesday.

The game was held at Anfield once again, with the clash ending 2-1 in Liverpool’s favour.

The Reds were somewhat fortunate in their win and were lucky that they weren’t facing a higher-quality opponent than the Championship side.

However, the game was massively overshadowed by the fact that Hugo Ekitike managed to get himself a red card after his goal.

The attacker was already on a yellow card leading up to his 85th-minute winner, so when he took his top off to celebrate, it ended his game prematurely.

Jobi McAnuff was left gobsmacked by Hugo Ekitike’s red card v Southampton

The fact that Liverpool were able to take off Alexander Isak and bring on Ekitike shows how much money they’ve invested in their attack this summer.

One of the main areas that Arne Slot needed to bolster was his attack, and now that he’s managed to do that, the Reds are reaping the rewards.

Liverpool now have, for the most part, two top-class players for each position in their team, with players such as Federico Chiesa often being named to the bench.

This is why Ekitike’s red card won’t affect the club all that much, even if BBC Sport pundit Jobi McAnuff did think it was “absolutely ridiculous.”

“Absolutely ridiculous, I’m all for emotion and passion but that wasn’t it,” he said while on BBC Radio Five Live.

“I don’t know what’s gone through his head.”

Liverpool will have to give Federico Chiesa another run-out against Crystal Palace

Although Isak going on strike for Newcastle may have got him his move, it’s meant that the first part of his season has been a write-off.

The Sweden international was one of the best strikers in the Premier League last season, and now, it feels like he’s playing second fiddle to Ekitike.

Of course, both players deserve to start for the Anfield outfit, with Ekitike even being dubbed “magnificent” by Ally McCoist, but in reality, it’s clear that one player has been in much better form than the other.

Although fans will be annoyed that Isak still can’t play a full 90 minutes, it does mean that Chiesa may get a bit of a game against Palace.

The attacker was Liverpool’s bright spark against the Saints on Tuesday, and even though he isn’t one of Slot’s preferred options, he’s certainly an exceptional player.

At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess what could happen, but with the depth Liverpool have at centre-forward, it would be a surprise not to see them both have some sort of impact on Saturday’s game against the Eagles.