Newcastle United delivered one of their most explosive European games in recent memory on Wednesday night, racing into a commanding lead against Qarabag in the Champions League play-off first leg with a dominant first half that pretty much secured the Magpies’ place in the Round of 16.
Anthony Gordon struck four times before the break, while Malick Thiaw also found the net as Newcastle surged to a 5–0 lead inside 45 minutes.
The dominant display, however, was briefly overshadowed by a heated exchange
between Gordon and veteran captain Kieran Trippier.
The disagreement came on Newcastle’s second penalty of the night—both converted by Gordon—as the younger greedy winger decided he wasn’t about to give up on the chance to score one more goal on the night.
As Newcastle players walked toward the tunnel at half-time, the pair continued their discussion before teammates intervened and separated them, with Dan Burn and Anthony Elanga stepping between the lads, and with Joe Willock later checking on Trippier to calm him down a notch.
Despite the tension, the matter was resolved quickly. Gordon was substituted in the 68th minute for Jacob Murphy, who added a sixth goal as Newcastle moved 6–1 up on aggregate. At full-time, Gordon and Trippier embraced on the pitch.
Speaking after the match, Trippier clarified the situation.
“Obviously, Gordy scored a hat-trick and I think I, and all the other players, wanted to take the penalty, but he’s our penalty taker,” Trippier said. “He wants to score goals, as everybody else does, but ultimately he is the penalty taker. In football, emotions are high on the pitch at times and it is what it is. He scored five goals, he was unbelievable today, and we move on.”
Gordon echoed that sentiment, removing weight from the on-pitch confrontation.
“Yeah, I understand everyone’s opinion because I want everyone to succeed and we should be in it together,” Gordon said. “But I’m an attacker and the penalty taker, I want to score as many goals as I possibly can. I understood everyone’s opinion and emotions do get high. But he’s one of my closest team-mates, he has been since I joined the club, he’s done so much for me. So, yeah, he’s alright.”
Gordon’s four-goal burst included a 33-minute hat-trick, making him the fastest English player to record one in Champions League history.
Newcastle host the return leg at St James’ Park on Tuesday, with Gordon having the second-most goals (10) among players competing in the UCL this season, only trailing Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe (13).
