Newcastle United took out their Premier League frustrations on Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Fresh off surrendering a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to Arsenal in the top-flight to remain 15th in the top-flight standings, Eddie Howe’s Magpies went in for the kill against their shaken hosts, who might have expected a closer battle, considering they sit top of their own domestic league standings.
The travelling Toon contingent were treated to a goal-fest at the Joseph Marien Stadium, with Newcastle running out convincing 4-0 victors due to a whole host of standout performers, as Anthony Gordon continued his fine form in Europe’s elite competition versus Sébastien Pocognoli’s men.
Gordon’s impressive performance in Belgium
Scoring last time out in the Champions League as a Marcus Rashford-led Barcelona narrowly beat Newcastle, Gordon picked up from where he left off at St James’ Park when making the trip to Belgium.
The England international hasn’t had the most vibrant of campaigns so far but was outstanding this week, with the tricky number ten a major thorn in the side of hosts all night long.
He notably completed five dribbles across the course of the one-sided contest. Still, despite his slick nature, it was his partner on the opposing right channel in Anthony Elanga who won the Toon the first of two penalties Gordon confidently put away.
Nick Woltemade had opened the scoring by this point. Still, just on the stroke of half-time, Gordon would essentially end the contest with his coolly dispatched penalty, which beat a helpless Kjell Scherpen, who had to fish another spot-kick out of the back of his net from the electric 24-year-old in the second half.
Winning nine ground duels for the cause as well, Gordon will hope he can put in an equally lively performance when Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest travel to Tyneside next in the Premier League, having yet to pick up a goal or assist this season in league action.
Amazingly, while Gordon did help himself to a brace, there was another Newcastle star who caught the eye even more.
Newcastle star proving he is now one of the best in the world
The Toon do have a lot of exciting players on their books at this moment in time who could easily slot into a lot of elite sides if given the chance to do so. Alexander Isak has now gone but Howe already has another talisman.
Sandro Tonali’s name instantly springs to mind in this regard, with one Toon-focused content creator after the final whistle had been sounded on the big win away at Union, going as far as to declare the energetic Italian as “world-class”.
Fortuitously collecting this assist when his effort was cleverly diverted home by Woltemade only tells a mere fraction of his tale in Belgium, with the relentless drive he has displayed in the Premier League in spades this season – with 3.7 ball recoveries averaged per league clash – on full display in Europe’s premier competition, too, winning four duels in total helping him to completely dominate proceedings centrally.
Tonali dictated the game throughout with 90 touches overall, which led to journalist Henry Winter declaring the 25-year-old as “incredible” for both his quality on the ball and also his unwavering stamina levels.
Off the back of another near faultless showing, it’s not completely absurd to say Tonali is one of the best in the world in his central midfield position, right now, with the constantly active number 8 clearly a vital cog capable of helping Newcastle through some treacherous clashes on stages such as the Champions League.
After all, if Ryan Gravenberch is in that conversation for Arne Slot’s Liverpool, Tonali should follow closely behind for Howe and Co.
Further hailed as being the “heist of the century” by Magpies-based journalist Thomas Hammond, with Tonali costing around the £55m mark to sign back in the summer of 2023 from AC Milan, Newcastle will hope they can continue to get the best out of their exceptional gem for many years to come, cautiously hoping they don’t fall victim to another Isak situation.
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