Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike sent off after celebrating late winning goal against Southampton
News > Sports News

Audio By Carbonatix
3:59 PM on Tuesday, September 23
By JAMES ROBSON
Hugo Ekitike’s celebrations were cut short when he was shown a red card after firing Liverpool into the third round of the English League Cup with a late winner against Southampton on Tuesday.
The striker will now be suspended for the Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, Liverpool later confirmed.
Ekitike converted from close range in the 85th minute to secure a 2-1 win at Anfield after second-tier Southampton had threatened to force a penalty shootout. But his joy turned to anguish when he was sent off for a second yellow card after taking off his shirt during his celebrations.
Ekitike's latest goal was his fifth in eight games for Liverpool after having joined the Premier League champion this offseason f rom Eintracht Frankfurt for $93.5 million.
Liverpool had led through British record signing Alexander Isak's first goal for the club since his $170 million deadline day move from Newcastle. But Southampton — 19th in the Championship — leveled in the 76th through Shea Charles.
With thoughts turning to a shootout, Liverpool produced another late rescue act — scoring a winner in the final 10 minutes for the sixth time this season.
Chelsea avoided becoming the latest giant to crash out of the Cup by beating third-tier Lincoln City 2-1 after a second-half fightback.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, Chelsea turned the game around after the break with quickfire goals from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte.
This season's League Cup has already produced one of the biggest shocks in the history of the tournament when fourth-tier Grimsby eliminated Manchester United in the last round. And when Rob Street fired Lincoln ahead in the 42nd minute against world champion Chelsea, it looked like another upset could be on the cards.
But the Premier League team powered back with George leveling in the 48th and Buonanotte hitting the winner two minutes later.
While Chelsea avoided elimination, it was a different story for another top-flight club in Burnley, which was beaten at home 2-1 by Cardiff.
There was no such trouble for Brighton, which beat Barnsley 6-0, with Diego Gomez scoring a first-half hat trick and four goals in total.
Despite being pointless in the league, Wolves beat Everton 2-0, while Fulham overcame Cambridge 1-0.
Wrexham's club-record signing Nathan Broadhead struck twice for the Welsh team in a 2-0 against Reading.
___
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer