Liverpool fans told how Hugo Ekitike will react to Arne Slot criticism over Southampton sending off

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Hugo Ekitike has been at the centre of a mini storm at Liverpool this week after being sent off in the Carabao Cup against Southampton.

It should have been a good night for the Frenchman, who scored his fifth goal of the season for the Reds to win the match late on.

But the joy turned to something approaching anger for Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who was left in disbelief after seeing Ekitike remove his shirt after scoring.

Having already been booked for dissent earlier in the half, the striker was justifiably sent off.

Whether the rule is outdated and needs to be changed is a different argument, but Ekitike was roundly criticised for the action and must have been left feeling a little hung out to dry.

Slot was one of those who was publicly disappointed with the France international, and former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol has predicted how Ekitike will respond to his manager’s comments.

Arne Slot praised for Hugo Ekitike comments

Slot was not in the best of moods after Liverpool’s win over Southampton on Tuesday. Predictably, post-match talk was dominated by Ekitike’s red card.

“What were your two words?” the Liverpool head coach asked a reporter. “That was ‘needless’, yes. And it was ‘stupid’. Yeah, it was.”

READ MORE: Federico Chiesa gives honest take on Hugo Ekitike’s ‘naive’ red card for Liverpool

But while Slot was quite firm in the way he dealt with his player, Nicol says he did it in such a way that Ekitike is unlikely to take offence.

“You’ve got to love that guy!” the Liverpool legend beamed on ESPN FC. “What’s not to love about Arne Slot? He doesn’t mess around with it, he’s not coming out and trying to be the hard man driving down Ekitike’s throat, he just does things the right way and says what he has to say.

“He’s not trying to cover it up, a lot of managers would come out and say ‘he’s only young, blah blah’, he doesn’t do that. I told him it was stupid, I told him what he should have been doing. But he does it in such a way that you don’t take offence, and I’m sure Ekitike won’t take it as an offence. I love the way the guy handles himself.”

Nicol also gave an insight into how he would have handled the situation from his time as a manager.

“Yes it was stupid, but I will stick up for him,” he said. “When I was a manager they all got one chance to be stupid, the second time they do it they get the hammer. He needs to learn from it, but as long as you learn from it it’s okay.”

When will Ekitike be back for Liverpool?

After some initial confusion, it has been confirmed that Ekitike will miss Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace.

That is a blow for the Reds. Palace are heading into the match in imperious form and Slot will have to come up with another solution.

Thankfully, after picking up two yellow cards, Ekitike will only miss the one game for Liverpool.

As a result, he will be back available as the Reds take the long trip to Istanbul to face Galatasaray on Tuesday.

Let’s hope Ekitike reacts positively and comes back determined to continue his good form.