ALAN SHEARER slammed Anthony Gordon after illness kept him out of the Newcastle starting XI against Barcelona.
Magpies talisman , who , was only deemed fit enough to start the last-16 tie on the bench.
Anthony Gordon caught both barrels from Alan Shearer after not starting Newcastle’s clash with BarcelonaCredit: Reuters
Shearer was unimpressed with the forward dropping to the bench due to illnessCredit: Getty
Toon boss had called on the team to summon the spirit of ’97, something club legend would have been familiar with.
But after seeing Gordon, whose 10 goals in the competition have only been bettered by , drop to the bench due to illness despite training in the morning of the game, Shearer, 55, was left enraged.
Working as a pundit on Amazon Prime, the broadcaster for the clash, he fumed: “Maybe I’m old school but if you’re fit enough to train in the morning, and I know he doesn’t feel well, but this is at for a place in the quarter-finals of the .
“It would take something extraordinary to keep myself out of this game tonight.
“And then to come and say ‘I might be able to give you half an hour at the end’, I don’t know, give us half an hour at the beginning and if you’re feeling alright, you get through to half-time.
“With his pace and his form in the Champions League he’s going to be a huge miss, so that surprises me a lot.”
Newcastle could have used some of Gordon’s cutting edge as they wasted a number of big chances to take the lead.
The 25-year-old did make it on to the pitch in the 67th minute, replacing William Osula.
And late on Newcastle did look to have won it when volleyed home the opener from ‘s cross to send St James’ Park into pandemonium.
However, as he stepped up to score an equalising penalty after Malick Thiaw’s foul on in the box.
It cruelly snatched away what would have been a deserved lead going into the second leg in .
And Howe’s side will now have to dig deep to do something Newcastle have never done in Champions League history and win at the Nou Camp.
Newcastle face in the Premier League on Saturday before the second leg against Barca the following Wednesday.
A supercharged derby against will follow that game before the international break.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
