The flying winger was at a loss to explain the hammering at the hands of Barcelona - but knows beating Sunderland is a must
Newcastle United's Anthony Elanga celebrates scoring his second against Barcelona
Newcastle United's Anthony Elanga celebrates scoring his second goal against Barcelona(Image: Getty Images)
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Anthony Elanga admits that Newcastle United players "owe" their fanbase after the horror show at the Nou Camp.
Elanga grabbed two goals in the first half but the La Liga table toppers ran out 7-2 winners with the Magpies blown away in Catalonia. However, attention turns straight to the Tyne-Wear derby in a game Newcastle can't afford to lose.
Elanga said: "We have to. For the fans who travelled here and sang for 90 minutes even when we were five or six goals down, we owe them.
"We can’t dwell on this. We’ll look at the mistakes, but tomorrow morning the focus has to switch entirely to Sunday. That’s a game for the city, and we have to show a reaction."
Elanga could not make any excuses after Barcelona came out firing after the break. He said: "We have to be honest—they were better.
"We are a growing team, and this is a massive learning curve. It’s a painful one, the most painful of my career so far, but we have to take it on the chin."
Newcastle's tactical decision to try to go man to man with some of Barca's stars, such as Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, crumbled in the second half.
Elanga tried to explain: "They changed gears, definitely. They started moving the ball much faster and the penalty just before half-time was a massive blow.
"Psychologically, it’s tough to go into the dressing room trailing after working so hard to get level twice. In the second half, they just suffocated us.
"They kept the ball, they forced us to run, and when we got tired, they were clinical. Every mistake we made, they scored. It felt like we couldn't breathe out there at times.
"It’s hard to find words right now, to be honest. It’s a shame we lost in the manner we did. We came here with a plan, and for the first 45 minutes, I think everyone saw that we were firmly in the game.
"We matched them, we transitioned well, and we showed we belong at this level. But at this level, if you switch off for ten minutes, teams like Barcelona don’t just beat you—they punish you until there's nothing left."
Even scoring twice against Barca was no consolation for Elanga, who reflected: "Individual milestones don’t mean much when you’re out of the competition. I’d trade both goals for a win or even just a closer result.
"The first goal was about the space - we knew their line would be high. The second, I just tried to stay alert when the ball fell loose. But like I said, those goals don't matter now. We failed as a unit in the second half."
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