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EFL Cup reaction: Liverpool and Chelsea win as Burnley knocked out Ekitike sent off for Liverpool after celebrating winner Chelsea through against Lincoln Burnley knocked out at home by League One Cardiff There are four more fixtures on Wednesday with Tottenham, Newcastle, Man City and Arsenal all in action Nottingham Forest and Celtic in Europa League action Aston Villa news conference later Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Written by Craig Nelson, Sam Drury, Sean Byrne and Grace Wheeler. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say I can roughly remember a few years ago that players had been yellow carded for shirt removal - because they had personal tributes or messages on their base-layers - and I don't remember there being that much debate over the rule back then. Probably because they weren't playing for one of the "big" teams. Rules are rules. Ekitike broke them and got his due punishment. Matt, Stourbridge Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Hugo Ekitike's needless red card was a headache that Arne Slot could have done without, on a night that saw him lose another new signing in the shape of debutant defender Giovanni Leoni. The 18-year-old Italy youth international, who was signed from Parma for £26m in the summer, was taken off on a stretcher in the closing stages with a knee injury. Leoni fell heavily over the touchline as he tried to shepherd a ball out of play under pressure from a Southampton player. He immediately signaled to the bench and had to be given gas and air as he was carried off, after being attended to for a number of minutes by the Liverpool medical staff. Slot said after the game: "If a player goes off like that it's not a good sign. We have to wait and see what it is but usually it's not positive. " Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Alexander Isak played it coolly when asked if he was ready to step up and start his first Premier League game for Liverpool. Arne Slot may have no choice but to throw in his £125m transfer deadline day signing against Crystal Palace this weekend, but the Swedish striker is says he is ready to "make a difference". "It is difficult to say, " he told ITV Sport on his readiness to start a top-flight match. "It is a mixture of fitness-wise and football-wise. I feel good and feel I am in a shape to make a difference. " And he added: "I feel good. With every game I play it is very helpful and gets me in better shape. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say I know what Ekitike did was really daft but let’s not treat this like an act of serious foul play. We have Isak and Chiesa and his absence will be short lived. Amir, Cardiff Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Gary Rose BBC Sport reporter Alexander Isak has had his playing time carefully managed since joining Liverpool. His two starts have been in cup competitions - playing 58 minutes against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on 17 September and then this first-half appearance against Southampton. In the Premier League he has made just one appearance - coming off the bench in the 67th minute in the 2-1 win against Everton at the weekend. Isak's half-time departure against the Saints was likely because Slot had one eye on the weekend as well, so may have already been planning to give him more game time at Crystal Palace. As well as scoring against Southampton, he also had a big chance early on but fired straight at goalkeeper Alex Mc Carthy. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say At least Ekitike has done Isak a favour for the Palace game at the weekend. No dilemma for Slot now. Time for Isak to shine. Chris, Chester Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Chris Sutton Former Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 Live For [Hugo] Ekitike to get a second yellow card for that [taking his shirt off] is just sheer stupidity. He's been such an important player for Liverpool so far this season - what a start to his Liverpool career, important goal [against Southampton] - but that's not great for Arne Slot if he's sitting out the game at the weekend. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Loved Slot’s criticism of Ekitike. Both yellow cards were stupid all by themselves, and if he had to take a shirt off it should be Chiesa’s! I imagine the squad didn’t mind him saying that either. Steve Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Liverpool manager Arne Slot did not mince his words and will have left his striker in no doubt where he stands on the issue. The Dutchman described Hugo Ekitike's actions as "stupid" and questioned why he was not turning attention towards provider Federico Chiesa, who unselfishly passed to the France striker when he could have scored himself. "It is not [stupid] because it was his second [yellow] - it's stupid even if you haven't had a yellow card yet, " he said. "Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned but I did score a few goals - not at his level but I did - and if I went past three players and put it in the top corner then maybe you can say 'this is all about me'. "But if I scored a goal like he did tonight, I would turn to Chiesa and say 'it's about you Federico - great assist, great run and I didn't have to do a lot'. Maybe that's me being old-school. "It was stupid, not smart in every sense. The good thing is that his team-mates helped him to get the win over the line, but the thing is he is now suspended for Saturday and that is far from ideal. " Slot added that he hoped his player would learn from the experience: "I'd be very surprised if he does it again. He probably forgot he got a yellow. He's young and he will learn from it. I'm sure he won't do it again. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say I do think the rule of getting a yellow card for taking your shirt off is stupid tbh. Let the player celebrate Richard Scores the winning goal. Gets immediately sent off - against a Championship side. Silly but undeniably entertaining. Nix Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say OK, players know the rules, taking a shirt off in celebration will earn a yellow card. All too often they are willing to take the punishment, and this is not the first time it has led to an early bath. If a player has already been shown a yellow card then the referee is left with no choice. But do you think the laws of the game are right on this issue? Thumbs up if you think players should be shown a yellow card for excessive goal celebrations, or thumbs down if you don't. Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Hugo Ekitike has hit the ground running at Liverpool since his £69m summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring five goals in his first eight appearances. But the £125m arrival of Sweden front man Alexander Isak from Newcastle on deadline day has put pressure on his place in the starting line-up. Isak is being eased into action after missing pre-season training, but scored his first goal for Liverpool after starting Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie at home to Southampton. After getting off the mark, Isak was replaced by Ekitike at half-time. The France striker had already picked up a booking for dissent, for throwing the ball away in frustration, when he was put through by Federico Chiesa in the 85th minute to side-foot the winner into an empty net. Ekitike, 23, instinctively took his shirt off in celebration, reminding fans of the name and number on the back of his shirt. But his joy was short-lived. .. Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Hugo Ekitike went on social media on Tuesday night to apologise: "I was so excited to help the team achieve another victory here in our home for my first Carabao 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 this victory! " Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Hugo Ekitike's sending-off led to some confusion over whether the Liverpool striker would be suspended for this weekend's Premier League game at Crystal Palace, or the next round of the EFL Cup only. Unfortunately for Liverpool fans - and many Fantasy Premier League players - the one-match ban is applied for the next game - so Saturday's trip to Selhurst Park. That means British record signing Alexander Isak might make his first league start for the Reds, after scoring the opening goal in Tuesday night's 2-1 win over Southampton at Anfield. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Bad Hugo. Bad bad bad Hugo Mr Wood Liverpool 2-1 Southampton Gary Rose BBC Sport reporter On a night when Liverpool celebrated the goalscoring arrival of their record signing Alexander Isak, a moment of madness has proved costly for their other in-form forward. Hugo Ekitike scored the winner in Tuesday's 2-1 victory against Southampton to progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. But, caught up in the moment of his 85th-minute goal, striker Ekitike removed his shirt and held it up to the Liverpool fans in celebration. He most likely knew he would get booked for that and was happy it was a price worth paying, but what he had seemingly forgotten is that he had already been shown a yellow card. .. Right, let's get into some of Tuesday night's main talking points, starting with Liverpool's hero of the hour, Hugo Ekitike, and his match-winning moment of madness. .. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Newcastle ended a 70-year wait to win a domestic trophy last season when they beat favourites Liverpool in the final of the EFL Cup in March. Could that be your club this season? If you are a fan of one of the 20 teams still left in the competition, please get in touch and tell us how you are feeling about your side's chances And for the neutrals out there, tell us who you would like to see win the trophy, and why. The draw for the fourth round will take place tonight at around 22: 00 BST, after the conclusion of the televised tie between Port Vale and Arsenal on Sky Sports. The last-16 ties will be played on the week commencing Monday, 27 October. All kick-off times 19: 45 BST unless stated There are still four places in the last 16 up for grabs. 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