Stepping inside Joe Gomez, the goal in front of the Gallowgate End was beckoning. His low finish wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to beat Caoimhin Kelleher in the Liverpool goal. Gordon wheeled away in celebration, Newcastle’s delirious supporters erupted in delight. It wasn’t the match winner, indeed thanks to the genius of Mo Salah, it nearly didn’t even help Newcastle claim a point. But in terms of transforming Gordon’s fortunes, perhaps it could still prove a game changer.
It eradicated the damage caused by last night’s first-half miss, which saw Gordon fire straight at Kelleher when afforded a clear run at the Liverpool goal, and should start to change the narrative of an unhappy player pining for a move to last night’s opposition which has attached itself to Gordon in the last six months.
Perhaps it will also help persuade Eddie Howe that in order to get the best out of Gordon, he is best off playing the winger in his preferred position on the left. Full-backs don’t know what to do with him when he can cut inside to devastating effect or drive on into the area in the manner in which he turned past Gomez last night. Playing on the left, Gordon can do what comes naturally to him. Anywhere else on the pitch, he tends to overthink what he is doing.
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Overthinking has been a moot point when it comes to Gordon. The root of the winger’s autumn malaise can be traced back to the summer, when England might have been his primary focus, but Liverpool were nevertheless at the forefront of his mind.
The Newcastle hierarchy, desperately scrambling to avoid a PSR breach that would have resulted in a points penalty, discussed Gordon with the Liverpool board. Gordon, closeted away with the rest of Gareth Southgate’s England squad in Germany, learned of the discussions.
Understandably, his interest was piqued. For all that he had previously played with Everton, Liverpool were his boyhood club. A return to Merseyside would take him closer to his parents and two brothers. Newcastle had just finished outside the European places; Liverpool, with excitement rising ahead of the arrival of new boss Arne Slot, were expected to challenge for both the Premier League and Champions League.
For a couple of days, there was an expectation that a deal might happen. Trent Alexander-Arnold began greeting Gordon with a chant of “He’s coming home”. As it was though, Liverpool stalled, Newcastle were able to rush through the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh, and Gordon left Germany, having been unfathomably underused by Gareth Southgate, unsettled and unsure of his place in Newcastle’s long-term plans.
The award of a new contract in the autumn helped convince him of his continued importance, but the 23-year-old’s early-season displays nevertheless hinted at a continued unease.
Admittedly, some of that was no doubt down to where Gordon was finding himself on the field. Despite undoubtedly being at his best in his usual left-wing position, he was moved across to the right flank to plug a gap that Newcastle had failed to address in multiple transfer windows. Then, when Alexander Isak was injured and Callum Wilson remained unavailable, he was stationed up front.
Last night showed why that was ill-advised. It was only the seventh time in his 14 league appearances this season when he had been stationed on the left of a front three, but almost instantly, he clicked back into gear.
There was a spring in the Liverpudlian’s step again, along with a general brightness in his running that saw him tearing up and down the left touchline all night long. His best moment early on came when he was pressing, with his nicking of the ball off Salah sparking the move that ended with Jacob Murphy hitting the post.
Then, there was the miss. Isak’s through ball wasn’t ideally placed, but Joe Gomez’s bungled attempt to play the ball back to his goalkeeper left Gordon clean through. He steadied himself and lined up his finish, but with Gomez just about getting back to apply some pressure, his scuffed shot was directed straight at Caoimhin Kelleher.
Nearly, but not quite. But then in the second half, redemption. By scoring Newcastle’s second, Gordon made a telling contribution to a brilliant game. The challenge, now, is to reproduce that on a more consistent basis and once again become the match-winner he regularly was last season.