Anthony Gordon hit four goals as Newcastle United overcame Qarabag with a 6-1 win in their Champions League play-off first leg.
Just two minutes into the game, Gordon ran through the Qarabag defence before latching onto an excellent through ball. He then finished well to give the visitors the lead. Newcastle doubled their advantage in the eighth minute after Kieran Trippier sent a cross into the box following a corner, with Malick Thiaw heading into the net. Anthony Gordon then added a third from the spot after a penalty was given in the 32nd minute, before completing his hat-trick just one minute later, rounding goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski before hitting the ball into an empty net. Gordon then won a penalty after being taken out by Kochalski, before converting the penalty in the 45th minute to net his fourth.
Qarabag did pull a goal back in the 56th minute through Elvin Jafarguliyev, but Newcastle went even further ahead in the 72nd minute courtesy of a deflected Jacob Murphy strike.
The Athletic’s Chris Waugh breaks down the key talking points from Wednesday night’s game.
Just how good was Anthony Gordon’s four-goal haul — and how does he compare to the Champions League’s finest?
Much has been made of the difference between Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and the Champions League this season. In many ways, Gordon is the player equivalent of Spurs (only not quite as bad domestically).
Having gone more than a year without a goal from open play in the Premier League before scoring against Liverpool on January 31, he has had no such issues in the Champions League. Only Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe (13) has more goals in Europe’s premier competition than Gordon (10) this season — and Gordon’s tally is from only nine matches. In the Premier League, Gordon has scored only three times in 20 outings.
Even so, the intensity and pace he has shown at centre-forward recently have already justified Howe’s decision to field the England international ahead of either of his expensive summer striker signings, Nick Woltemade or Yoane Wissa.
No single player has helped Newcastle rediscover their all-action identity in recent games more than Gordon, who pressed from the off and scored inside 121 seconds.
Having added a second from the spot — which came following a penalty awarded for handball after a VAR check, with the bar for penalties seemingly lower in UEFA competitions than in the Premier League — he completed his first-ever senior hat-trick little more than a minute later, capitalising on a defensive clanger to round the goalkeeper and finish into an empty net.
In first-half added time, Gordon’s speed again caused disarray in the Qarabag defence and, having flicked the ball beyond Kochalski, he was upended. Despite Kieran Trippier appearing to suggest Gordon allow someone else to take the spot kick, the designated taker demanded to do so, and converted to the goalkeeper’s left this time, having gone to his right with his first penalty.
That was the eighth spot kick which Gordon has dispatched successfully in all competitions this season, yet the disagreement with Trippier appeared to continue until the interval, with the captain for the night exchanging heated words with the scorer. Anthony Elanga and Dan Burn attempted to intervene. When Gordon left the pitch to be replaced by William Osula in the 68th minute, he gave Trippier a hug. Despite scoring four times during the first half, Gordon saw two further shots saved when he probably should have converted both.
But it would be harsh to nitpick about such an impressive performance. Perhaps Gordon the centre-forward is more sustainable in the long run than we had previously thought.
Gordon scores his first goal of the night (Giorgi Arjevanidze/AFP via Getty Images)
Woltemade is happy at Newcastle — and does his new role work for him?
Signed as a £64million ($86.6m) striker in August, Woltemade’s early (and possibly temporary) repurposing as an “attacker” or a “midfielder” — as Howe has described him — is going smoothly so far. His ingenuity has helped compensate for the huge loss of Bruno Guimaraes’ creativity in the middle.
After ending a 14-game goal drought by scoring on his 24th birthday at Villa Park on Saturday, Woltemade once again started in a hybrid No 8/No 10 position against Qarabag.
While the German was out in Baku, puzzling speculation regarding his supposed happiness on Tyneside emerged. A light-hearted article in the German media, by a veteran journalist who regularly writes tongue-in-cheek pieces, proposed that Woltemade was keen to return to Germany and join Bayern Munich this summer.
The column was not supposed to be taken seriously, but it was picked up by a section of the UK media and then took on a life of its own.
It bemused those inside St James’ Park, as well as those around the forward, who insist Woltemade is happy and focused at Newcastle and has not considered heading back to his home country. Bayern made three bids to sign Woltemade during the summer, but there is no suggestion they retain that interest.
Woltemade may not have fully adapted to playing as a centre-forward in Newcastle’s system yet, but at least for now, Howe has tinkered with his position, pulling the German deeper, to extract more from him. Whether that is where he will continue to be deployed in the long run remains to be seen, but Howe is searching for solutions to his Woltemade puzzle, not to dispense of him during the summer window.
Has Eddie Howe found the balance he needs?
He has unearthed answers to problems over the last three away games, with Newcastle winning three times on the road in a row for the first time in 13 months — and in three separate competitions. Inside eight days, Newcastle have doubled their tally of away wins for the campaign.
Whether Woltemade as an attacking midfielder, Gordon as a centre-forward and Joe Willock regularly starting as a No 8 are all sustainable solutions is unclear, but their post-Brentford-defeat bounce has been real.
Newcastle look more representative of a ‘Howe team’ at the moment, bearing greater resemblance to the style often seen over the previous three full campaigns. They look dangerous offensively, aggressive and less open in transition.
Defensively, issues remain. Qarabag were already 5-0 down before they scored, but Newcastle have only kept three clean sheets in 28 games, and have gone eight matches since their last shutout.
With a trip to the Etihad to come on Saturday, Newcastle’s uplift could swiftly be punctured. Newcastle’s record there is appalling, and Howe’s side have regularly been dismantled by Manchester City.
But at least Newcastle will go there this time on the back of three straight away wins and having scored six in Baku.
What did Howe say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Newcastle?
Saturday, February 21: Manchester City (Away), Premier League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET