Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Southampton were beaten 2-1 at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday evening.
Alexander Isak notched his first goal for the Reds since arriving from Newcastle United in the summer to break the deadlock before half-time.
The Saints equalised courtesy of a close-range finish from Shea Charles deep into the second half, before Hugo Ekitike broke Southampton hearts.
Ekitike scored the winner for Liverpool before being dismissed for a second yellow card after taking his shirt off to celebrate.
Following the Saints’ cup exit, Will Still revealed the contents of the former Reims duo’s pre-game catch-up.
Hugo Ekitike told Will Still he’d score for Liverpool against Southampton
Ekitike was introduced by Liverpool boss Arne Slot at half-time for Isak, and it proved to be an inspired substitution from the Dutchman.
Federico Chiesa controlled a lofted ball from Andy Robertson wonderfully and slipped it sideways past Saints shot-stopper Alex McCarthy to put it on a plate for the French forward.
Ekitike would have found it harder to miss than score, and his emotions got the better of him after being given a second yellow he could have no complaints about.
Before the game, the former Reims pair reminisced on their time together in Ligue 1, with Still overseeing Ekitike’s breakout campaign in the French top flight.
Saints boss Still explained that his former forward predicted that he could score upon his introduction.
On his former Reims striker Ekitike, Still said: “He’s a funny lad. We caught up before the game, and he said he’d come on and score and then give me a shirt and bugger off, which is exactly what he’s done.
“Fair play to him. We sold him to PSG for £50million, so we knew he’d got a bit about him and he’d scored a lot of goals for us as well. He’s a constant threat, and he’s incredibly annoying to play against.”
- READ MORE: Hull City ace Ryan Giles proves Middlesbrough fans and Rob Edwards wrong with stunning stats
Arne Slot calls Hugo Ekitike ‘stupid’ for red card against Southampton
Although Southampton failed to work their way back into the game against ten-men Liverpool, Ekitike’s dismissal could have been costly.
Ekitike was dismissed with only four minutes of regular time to play, and Liverpool boss Arne Slot slammed the Frenchman for his “stupid” decision against Southampton.
As quoted by The Athletic, Slot said: “I told him if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it into the top corner I can maybe understand that you are like ‘this is all about me’.
“I’m old-fashioned, I’m 47 and old and I haven’t played at this level but I did score a few goals and if I had scored a goal like this I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said this goal is all about you, not about me.
“So needless, not smart, you call it stupid, I call it stupid as well.”
Still knows Southampton are struggling to score, and the Saints boss would no doubt appreciate having a prolific finisher akin to Ekitike at St Mary’s, despite the Frenchman’s lapse in judgement after his goal on Tuesday night.