Liverpool striker Ekitike sent off after celebrating late League Cup goal

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.

Chelsea also left it until the second half to avoid becoming the victim of another League Cup giant-killing at the hands of lowly Lincoln City.

Ekitike will now be suspended for Liverpool's Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The striker 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 soon turned to anguish when he was sent off for a second yellow card after removing his shirt during his goal celebration.

It was Ekitike's fifth goal in eight games for Liverpool, after having joined the Premier League champion from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer for $93.5 million.

Liverpool had led through Alexander Isak's first goal for the club since making his British-record $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 escape act — scoring a winner in the final 10 minutes for the sixth time this season.

"Not the best performance, which you can expect if you play a completely new team," said Slot, who made 11 changes from the lineup that beat Everton on Saturday.

Isak gets off the mark

Isak started repaying his monumental transfer fee by opening his Liverpool account with a clinically taken close-range effort in the 43rd minute.

It was only his second start after his drawn-out move from Newcastle impacted his preseason. The Sweden international was withdrawn at halftime, with Slot still easing him into action.

However, he could now be called upon to start against Palace in Ekitike's absence.

"It was good to get back out there and score my first goal at Anfield," Isak told ITV. "Every game I play is very helpful and gets me in better shape. I'm just getting more and more ready.

"It's a mixture of fitness-wise and also football-wise. I feel good, I feel like I'm in a shape to at least make a difference."

Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni was taken off on a stretcher after appearing to land awkwardly while making a tackle late on.

"Of course, he is down, because, for him, it didn't feel good immediately, but this is something now we have to assess," Slot said.

Chelsea survives a scare

World club champion in July, trailing at third-tier Lincoln City in September — Chelsea's blushes were saved thanks to a second-half fightback that saw it eventually prevail 2-1.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime, Chelsea turned the game around after the break thanks to two 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 Town eliminated Manchester United in the last round.

And, when Rob Street fired Lincoln ahead in the 42nd minute against Chelsea, it looked like another spectacular 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.

Agencies Via Xinhua