Hugo Eikitke faces backlash after giving Rayan Cherki his shirt before full-time

Liverpool was thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinal, and the sight of Hugo Ekitike swapping shirts with Rayan Cherki left many fans unhappy

Rayan Cherki and Hugo Ekitike exchanged shirts before full-time(Image: Getty Images)

The image of Hugo Ekitike exchanging shirts with Manchester City's Rayan Cherki left numerous Liverpool fans frustrated following the Reds' comprehensive 4-0 FA Cup defeat.

Despite an encouraging opening at the Etihad, the Reds were overwhelmed in the quarterfinal clash as Erling Haaland netted a hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo also got on the scoresheet. Adding to the disappointment, Mohamed Salah saw his penalty kept out by James Trafford as the Reds succumbed to a dismal loss, their third against City across all competitions this campaign.

Watching from the technical area, Arne Slot chose to make wholesale substitutions with his team trailing 4-0 midway through the second period, including withdrawing Ekitike for Cody Gakpo.

Moments later, Cherki, who had set up Semenyo's strike, was withdrawn for Tijjani Reijnders by City, and he wasted no time swapping shirts with his France international colleague Ekitike as he departed.

Cherki even pulled on Ekitike's Liverpool shirt, which provoked the ire of some City supporters in attendance, promptly forcing the ex-Lyon player to take it off.

However, it was Ekitike's eagerness to exchange shirts that irritated several Reds supporters, particularly following such a lackluster display, which is certain to intensify scrutiny on embattled manager Slot.

Cherki was seen wearing Ekitike's shirt during the game(Image: TNT Sports)

"Ekitike swapping his shirt before full time at 4-0 down tells you all you need to know about the mentality of this squad," remarked one supporter on X.

Another commented: "Hugo Ekitke swapping shirts with Rayan Cherki when it's 4-0 tells you everything you need to know about this squad at the moment. Heads in the clouds."

"Ekitike's first thought after being subbed off after stinking the joint up was getting Cherki's shirt," posted another.

Another reacted to the shirt exchange by stating: "There's absolute zero man management, leaders or captains in this side anymore. no one cares."

Following the comprehensive defeat, the Reds must regroup for the Champions League journey to Paris Saint-Germain, Ekitike's former club, on Wednesday.

"Liverpool sloped off, and I would imagine they were very embarrassed by the scoreline and the performance," former Manchester United striker Dion Dublin told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"When a red shirt had the ball, they didn't have many options. It tells me a lot of those Liverpool players didn't want the responsibility of the ball.

"It was a poor performance; they are a lot better than what we have seen today. To get embarrassed like they did today is going to stick with them."