Anthony Gordon praises two ‘fantastic’ Barcelona stars, Newcastle United could not stop them

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Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon highlighted the performances of two Barcelona players despite scoring his first career Champions League goal.

While he should have been celebrating in front of the passionate St James’ Park crowd, Anthony Gordon simply grabbed the ball from inside the net and placed it in the centre circle, ready to go again.

Newcastle United were beaten 2-1 against Barcelona on Thursday night, thanks to a brilliant brace from Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford, who loves a goal against the Magpies.

Gordon’s goal proved to be too little, too late for Eddie Howe’s side, who could have been two goals up in the first half had the likes of Harvey Barnes taken their golden chances. The result is ultimately disappointing, but there are positives to take, like Anthony Elanga looking like the £55m signing fans were hoping for under the lights.

While he should have been enjoying his first-ever Champions League goal, Gordon took the time to praise the two Barcelona stars who were unstoppable on Tyneside.

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Anthony Gordon has high praise for Pedri and Frenkie de Jong in Newcastle United defeat

Fans should be pleased with the contributions they gave to the game, even if they were annoyed at Howe for taking Elanga off.

The England international will miss Newcastle’s game against Bournemouth on Sunday due to suspension, but will be in contention to start in the Carabao Cup clash against Bradford on Wednesday.

For now, the focus is on the fallout in the Champions League, where Gordon could not help but praise midfielders Pedro and Frenkie de Jong, who were both unstoppable on Thursday night, making Newcastle’s midfielders look a step below them at times.

“Really tough game,” he told TNT Sports. “Top team. I felt we had the better moments, but they kept possession. They made it really difficult for us to do our usual press, and they controlled the game through that.

“They did very well at keeping the ball. Pedri and de Jong were fantastic.

“It’s a top level. Rashford scored two goals out of nowhere. It’s got to be the same for us and take the opportunities when they’re presented to us.

“That’s natural, being human beings, 2-0 down to Barca feels like an uphill battle. We got the goal, which is a testament to our mentality. We were knackered.

“We can be proud of how we played. We gave it our best against one of the top teams on the planet. I didn’t think there was much in the game. We had the better moments but we need to put them away.”

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Eddie Howe will be worried with one of Anthony Gordon’s comments

Howe will no doubt want to watch that game back immediately to ensure he gets his setup right for Bournemouth. However, Andoni Iraola’s side pose a completely different threat to Newcastle, with their counterattacking abilities proving problematic for the Magpies during their visit to St James’ Park in January.

Newcastle piled on the pressure from the first minute against Barcelona, but unfortunately, that comes at a cost. Some players looked fatigued towards the end of the game, and as Gordon says, he believes he and his teammates were ‘knackered’.

With another important game on the horizon, that is not what Howe would want to hear. Gordon has time to rest due to his suspension, but the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali will likely be back in the starting XI on Sunday, where one or maybe even both of them will play the full 90 minutes.

Nick Woltemade could start for Newcastle against Bournemouth after playing for around half an hour on Thursday. He will surely not be feeling the effects of the game as badly as other players in the team.