Newcastle United’s Champions League campaign got up and running on Wednesday after a thumping win over Union Saint-Gilloise.
Indeed, Newcastle United beat USG 4-0 in the Champions League to record their second win in the competition under Eddie Howe.
After a stop-start time of things in the Premier League this season, things clicked into place in Brussels.
Newcastle were largely brilliant throughout the game, with Nick Woltemade opening the scoring in the first half. Anthony Gordon bagged a penalty before the break before doing so again in the second half.
Harvey Barnes wrapped up proceedings to hand Howe a major boost ahead of Sunday’s game against Nottingham Forest.
It was, however, another player who impressed UEFA Technical Observer Group. Anthony Elanga certainly made an impact.
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UEFA hand Anthony Elanga an award after Newcastle United beat USG
It would be fair to say that Elanga has struggled since joining Newcastle from Forest.
While the Sweden star may have had a few assists had some of his teammates put the chances he created away, it has still been a difficult start for him on Tyneside.
Elanga, however, was brilliant in Brussels. He put the cross in for the first goal before winning the penalty for the second.
As such, he was handed the Player of the Match Award.
A message from the UEFA Technical Observer Group (via UEFA’s official website) said: “He had a great first half, was really positive and it was always a treat to watch him when he got the ball. He was heavily involved in the first two goals to settle this game.”
Anthony Elanga stats for Newcastle United vs USG
Although Elanga didn’t get an assist, he was heavily involved in Newcastle’s first two goals.
His cross for Nick Woltemade was cleared, allowing Sandro Tonali to strike. The ball then hit Woltemade on the way through.
| USG vs Newcastle United statistics | Anthony Elanga |
| Touches | 54 |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Penalties won | 1 |
| Successful dribbles | 1/3 |
| Accurate crosses | 1/5 |
Elanga’s run also forced the first penalty from which Gordon scored in the Belgian capital.
As per FotMob data, Elanga had 54 touches in his 73 minutes on the pitch, completing one dribble. His crossing accuracy could do with some work having successfully aimed just one of his five attempts, but that will surely come.
Newcastle paid a lot of money for Elanga and, on this kind of evidence, it looks well spent.
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