Anthony Gordon says ‘unselfish’ Newcastle United star ‘deserves’ so much credit for what he did vs Aston Villa

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Newcastle United got off to a sensational start against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

With fewer than two minutes on the clock at St James’ Park, Anthony Gordon smashed in a brilliant strike from range to give Newcastle the lead and set the tone for what was a fantastic afternoon.

Alexander Isak and Joelinton would add the gloss to the scoreline after the break, while the Sweden star and Bruno Guimaraes saw efforts chalked off by VAR in tight calls.

Still, it was Gordon’s goal that really got things going. Villa had just dominated Manchester City (albeit that may no longer be a huge achievement) and headed up to Tyneside full of confidence.

However, with Gordon unleashing such a fierce strike so early into proceedings, it threw Unai Emery’s side right off their tracks.

It was a fantastic moment for the England star, though he was quickly keen to praise Lewis Hall in the build-up to the goal.

Anthony Gordon wants people to look at Lewis Hall’s role in his Newcastle goal

The full-back, who has been impressive all season, gave Villa right-back Matty Cash something to think about by overlapping Gordon.

• READ MORE: Who is Anthony Gordon? Age, height, career, position, girlfriend

Cash was seemingly caught in two minds and that allowed the space into which Gordon cut in and fired at goal. He still had a lot to do of course but Hall’s unselfish run certainly helped.

Speaking to the club’s in-house media channel after the game, Gordon said: “Hall’s run actually opens up so much space, so he deserves a lot of credit for being unselfish.”

Lewis Hall is often the unsung hero for Newcastle United

Excellent against Brentford in the Carabao Cup and again at Ipswich last weekend, Hall is a key player for Newcastle these days.

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While not to suggest his work goes unnoticed, moments like that underline what a good job Hall is doing even when the emphasis is on Newcastle’s attacking display.

It feels an awful long time ago now that Hall was struggling for game time…