Former Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon was in the thick of the action as Barcelona won their final game of pre-season
Anthony Gordon
Anthony Gordon had a mixed night as Barcelona rounded off pre-season(Image: Getty)
Anthony Gordon received mixed reviews from Spanish media as Barcelona rounded off their pre-season campaign with a win over Al Ahly.
The former Newcastle United star played the second half as Hansi Flick's side beat the Egyptian giants 2-1 at the Nou Camp with first-half goals from 18-year-old sensation Hamza Abdelkarim and a Raphinha penalty. Zico pulled a goal back early in the second half but Barca continued to dominate as they retained the Joan Gamper Trophy.
Flick made wholesale changes at half-time, including bringing on Gordon, who played in two positions: on the left flank and then as a striker. He certainly made his mark, having a goal disallowed and winning a penalty, only to see it saved.
Despite that, Gordon did enough to earn praise from some sections of local media. Mundo Deportivo described Gordon as "imaginative" and said: "Better than in Basel [Barca's previous friendly], he almost scored with a chip. He cleverly won a penalty, but missed it."
La Vanguardia, which noted his penalty record with the Magpies, said: "The third goal seemed destined to come from another penalty, this time awarded for a foul on Gordon, who was breaking towards goal.
"The Englishman, who had already taken penalties for Newcastle, demanded the ball, but goalkeeper El Shenawy guessed correctly."
Anthony Gordon takes a penalty
Gordon saw his spot-kick saved(Image: Getty)
The Barca Blaugranes site was more lavish in its praise, saying: "Once again, Anthony Gordon was impressive, this time in a second-half cameo. The former Newcastle United man is still settling into his new role but has slotted in at Barca perfectly.
"Whether used by Flick as an impact sub for Raphinha initially, or utilised elsewhere in the front line, his work rate will help win him the plaudits, and his attacking excellence will help win Barca games. A shame he couldn’t dispatch the penalty he'd won, but it's still so far, so good from the Englishman."
Anthony Gordon
Gordon played out wide and up front during his second half outing(Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, SPORT gave Gordon a rating of 6/10, delivering a more downbeat review of his performance. It said: "He alternated promising play with some inconsistency. He intelligently won a penalty, which he took himself but without success. Lots of desire but inconsistent accuracy."
Barca began the defence of their La Liga title at Elche on Sunday, with Gordon in contention to be in the starting line-up.
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