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Football

Liverpool

vs Southampton. Carabao Cup Round 3.

8: 00pm, Tuesday 23rd September 2025.

Anfield.

Report and free match highlights as Hugo Ekitike is sent off after scoring the winner for a second bookable offence as he took his shirt off in celebration; Alexander Isak had scored his first goal for Liverpool that was cancelled out by Southampton substitute Shea Charles

@Zinny Boswell

Tuesday 23 September 2025 23: 50, UK Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Alexander Isak's first Liverpool goal was overshadowed by Hugo Ekitike's late winner and sending off against Southampton as last season's finalists progressed to the Carabao Cup fourth round with a 2-1 win. Ekitike had seemingly forgotten he was already on a booking when he took his shirt off in celebration after Federico Chiesa squared the ball to him to seal victory at Anfield. The Frenchman will now miss Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Isak was replaced by Ekitike at the break after opening his account on the stroke of half-time. The £125m striker says he is on his way to getting fit - and was instructed to do sprints during the interval - but will be Liverpool's only natural striker at Selhurst Park. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "It is stupid if you haven't had a yellow card yet, " Liverpool boss Arne Slot told Sky Sports of Ekitke's second yellow. "Maybe I am old-fashioned. If I scored a goal like his, I would've turned around to Chiesa and said it was all about you. "It was stupid. Not smart. The good thing was that his teammates helped him but if the information is correct he is suspended for Saturday. That is far from ideal. " Liverpool's first goal came from Chiesa, who finished with two assists, capitalising on a poor pass from Southampton goalkeeper Alex Mc Carthy in his own box that allowed the Italian to put the ball on a plate for Isak. Wataru Endo made an even worse error for the Championship side's equaliser, as he headed back towards his own goal when clearing a corner. Substitute Shea Charles poked in the equaliser from six yards, but his side could not prevent yet another late Liverpool goal.

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Southampton had progressed from the third round in each of their last six attempts but go out with their heads held high. They were also knocked out of this competition at Anfield last season at the quarter-final stage. Liverpool maintain their perfect start to the season after seven games by scoring the winning goal in the final 10 minutes for a sixth time. Can anyone stop them? Ekitke's choice to remove his shirt after scoring to show Anfield the name on the back of his shirt becomes even more ridiculous when you consider his first booking was for punching the ball away in frustration at a refereeing decision less than 10 minutes after coming on. The 23-year-old has given Arne Slot a dilemma ahead of a tough trip to Crystal Palace, who beat Liverpool in the Community Shield on penalties. Every other side since has lost to Liverpool, while Palace are on a 17-game unbeaten run, inclusive of that game. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Isak himself admits that he is not fully there in terms of his fitness and Slot has shown little interest in using Cody Gakpo, the next most obvious option, through the middle. So it will be up to the Liverpool boss to either take a gamble with Isak or hope Gakpo can do a job. For a coach who was able to name an entirely different side from the Merseyside derby win against Southampton, it is remarkable that Slot now finds himself in this position. It was a needless decision from Ekitike that only weakens Liverpool in a moment of strength and increases the likelihood of the champions dropping their first points of the season. Their rivals will be delighted. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Liverpool defender Andy Robertson to Sky Sports on Ekitike's sending off: "I'll be very surprised if he does it again. Scoring a goal is always emotional and he's obviously just forgot. His first one is stupidity. Two silly bookings and we miss him for Saturday. "It's silly from his part. He will learn from it and I'm sure he won't do it again. " Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Liverpool boss Arne Slot to Sky Sports: "It wasn't our best game of the season. Playing a whole new team, players who haven't played for a long time. These two things do not normally help. "There were also positives to take. Marmardashvili had a very good game, Leoni had a very good game before he came off. Alex scored his first goal, Hugo scored a goal and Chiesa was very good. Curtis Jones was back from injury. "In general it was not our best performance. "[Isak] is playing more and more but it is only six or seven days ago since he played his first minutes for us. We are trying to build him up quicker than normal. "He is available again for next week when we play three games. Yes he is ready for minutes and yes he does well. But to have the best version of him, I think that is after the international break. Then we will see the best from him. " Sky Sports Tim Sherwood: "Can you believe it? Can you believe it? He takes a second yellow card for that? I'd be fuming if I was Arne Slot. What is he thinking? He must know the rule. "I think it's the pressure of Isak being there, the noise around it. He's letting everyone know that I am here. We know he's done really well, he's a real threat. That's his fifth goal of the season. He can't do any more than he's doing. We all know your name! "There's absolutely no need to show that. Liverpool fans appreciate what he's doing. Now he's not going to play and whether Isak is ready to play or not… Ekitike has let himself down. " Southampton boss Will Still to Sky Sports: "I think we stood up and took a bit of ownership of what we were doing. "The way we have lost that is a perfect summary of where we are in the league. A lot of good bits but we have shot ourselves in the foot by conceding a really poor goal. "We hit the bar and missed an easy chance, then they go up the other end and not had to do too much to score. It's where we are at. "We need to address that elephant in the room, take those mistakes out of our game. We reacted well and got back into the game but then switched off. "It's where we are at. It is tough, difficult and frustrating but we need to keep plugging away. I am sure we will click into gear at some point. " Super 6 are starting the season by guaranteeing a £1, 000, 000 winner! Play for free.

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