Barcelona Fans Cast Strong Anthony Gordon Verdict After Debut vs FC Basel
Barcelona Fans Cast Strong Anthony Gordon Verdict After Debut vs FC Basel
6 minutes
Anthony Gordon made his Barcelona debut on Sunday afternoon as he starred in his side’s victory against FC Basel.
The Catalan giants cruised to a comfortable victory at St. Jakob-Park. Karim Adeyemi, who signed for the club from Borussia Dortmund this summer, gave the away side the lead in the 34th minute, only for Jean Doucoure to restore parity shortly after.
Hamza Abdelkarim gave the away side the lead once more shortly after half-time, before Lamine Yamal gave them breathing space with nine minutes remaining via the penalty spot.
Kazeem Olaigbe made no mistake when Basel were given a penalty of their own shortly after to set up an interesting finish, but their hopes of a comeback were extinguished as Jesse Bisiwu netted a late brace to ensure Barcelona ran out 5-2 winners.
Barcelona fans Make Feelings Clear About Anthony Gordon
Anthony Gordon in action for Barcelona vs Basel REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Gordon, who signed for Barcelona in a £69.3 million move from Newcastle United this summer, was named in his side’s starting lineup for the first time against the 21-time Swiss champions.
The 25-year-old, who is one of the highest-paid British footballers plying their trade abroad, played the opening 45 minutes before making way for Abdelkarim at half-time.
SofaScore gave him a rating of 6.5/10 for his performance. He was successful with 28 of his 29 passes, one of which was classed as a ‘key pass’.
He found a teammate with one of his two crosses, did not complete his only attempted dribble, lost possession four times and won one of his three ground duels.
A video of Gordon’s performance has gone viral online and, despite not being at his very best, Barcelona fans are very excited about the Englishman and have high hopes for him.
One fan wrote: ‘Trust me… Gordon will be the reason we win two Champions Leagues before the end of this decade,’ while another commented: ‘Could have easily gotten two goals from his play. He is direct and fits in perfectly with the sort of energy Flick wants, the depth, the varying attacking options we now have.’
A third said: ‘Top signing. Hoping he keeps up with this level’, while a fourth stated: ‘He was incredible today, good decision-making. They just couldn’t stop him. He’ll be amazing for us. I just know it.’
A fifth wrote: ‘All it took for Gordon was 45 mins in a friendly match to prove he isn’t just a roadrunner. Heck, the way he was playing, you’d think this is 100th match for Barca, not 1st.’
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was complimentary of Basel after the match, saying they gave his side a ‘good test’.
He said, per Goal: “It was a good test for us; Basel played well. It wasn’t easy playing against them. Perhaps in the first half we didn’t play as quickly as we’d have liked, either in terms of positioning or off the ball. That’s what we need to improve on. We’ve got potential, and I’m pleased with the test.”
He added: “The most important thing is how we train, the quality and the intensity, and that’s very good. I can see the standard of the team and that’s what matters most. We’ll analyse this match and also the training sessions. And we’ve got a match this week, so we’ll see.”
Barcelona return to action on Wednesday when they take on Egyptian side Al Ahly. They begin their La Liga campaign on Sunday evening when they travel to Elche.
