Former Newcastle United winger Andros Townsend was particularly impressed with Anthony Gordon following their Champions League win over Benfica on Tuesday night.
Gordon made history for Newcastle United against Benfica by becoming the first player in club history to score in three consecutive Champions League games.
The England international was brilliant as Newcastle beat Benfica 3-0 and also provided an assist for teammate Harvey Barnes after a flowing team move that also included Nick Woltemade.
Gordon’s strike made it four goals in three games for the club in the Champions League this season and Newcastle now have eyes on progressing into at least the play-off stage of the competition.
He was excellent throughout the game and Townsend was full of praise.
Anthony Gordon skids after scoring for Newcastle United vs Benfica.
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Andros Townsend hails Anthony Gordon after Newcastle United vs Benfica
Townsend, who played for the club for a brief period in 2016, is now doing punditry work alongside playing for Thai side Kanchanaburi Power F.C.
Speaking about Gordon on BBC Football’s Daily, Townsend talked up the many facets to Gordon’s game. The two briefly played alongside each other at Everton, making a total of 17 appearances.
“Well, when when I first joined Everton, he was a young lad and you could see he had quality,” he said.
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“He had immense pace, obviously, but he didn’t really didn’t really work hard enough. In a modern-day winger, you need to, out of possession, you need to be the first line of press and he wasn’t doing that.
“Then it sort of clicked for him. He started working hard. He started getting in the team. He started getting joy. The fans loved him. But even still, by the time Newcastle bought him for £50million [roughly], I think Everton fans were thinking, right, we don’t want him to go, but I think we’ve got the better end of the deal here.
“£50million for Anthony Gordon, it’s a steal! But since then, he’s just put it all together. He’s got the quality, he’s got the consistency, the pace.
“Out of possession for me, he’s one of the best in the Premier League in his position. And it’s all just come together for him. At the age of 24, he has absolutely everything.”
Eddie Howe admits he’s confused about Anthony Gordon at Newcastle United this season
Gordon has been a force to be reckoned with in the Champions League this season.
Life in the Premier League, however, has proven more difficult for him. In five appearances, he’s yet to record a goal or an assist.
While not to criticise Gordon after such a fine showing, there’s little doubt he needs to up his game on the domestic front.
That’s true of all Newcastle’s wingers, who have struggled to convince outside of the Champions League this season.
After the Benfica game, Eddie Howe admitted the differences in their performances across competitions was slightly confusing.
The Newcastle United manager said: “That’s a head-scratcher for me as well, because we know their qualities, we know they’re goalscorers, we know how good players they are.
“That goes through for another few players in our squad as well. Everyone has pointed to the fact that we haven’t been scoring enough in the Premier League but when you see us play like we did tonight and how we attacked and the amount of chances we created, that’s a difficult one for us to work out.
“All we can do is return to the Premier League and return with the same attitude. I think if the attitude is there, the quality will show.”