£12m Newcastle player will surely be worried after what happened vs Union Saint-Gilloise
Newcastle’s dominant performance against Union Saint-Gilloise would have been bad news for one star.
The Toon secured an important 4-0 victory in Belgium to boost their hopes of qualifying from the league phase of the Champions League.
Anthony Gordon scored twice from the spot, after Nick Woltemade had touched Sandro Tonali’s effort into the net, before Harvey Barnes added a late fourth.
The result may kickstart Newcastle‘s season, with only two wins in all competitions so far with Eddie Howe’s side languishing in 15th in the Premier League table.
Jacob Murphy faces axe as trio impress
Newcastle fans praised Woltemade’s performance whilst Tonali is quickly becoming a legend at the club according to Steve Sidwell.
However, it will have been the performances of Anthony Elanga, Gordon and the goal from Barnes which would have concerned Jacob Murphy on the bench.
| Stats/Player | Anthony Gordon | Anthony Elanga | Harvey Barnes |
| Minutes Played | 90 | 73 | 17 |
| Goals | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Successful Dribbles | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Total Shots | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Murphy was dropped to the bench from Newcastle’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal with Elanga preferred from the start.
Elanga won the first penalty, and his pace was a constant threat down the right flank in a fine showing which will make Howe ponder whether he deserves to be handed more opportunities from the start.
Eddie Howe must settle on front line
Howe has constantly changed his front line this season, originally starting with Elanga before switching back to Murphy.
Woltemade has three goals in his first six appearances for the club, and needs a settled line-up around him to be able to form relationships.
Newcastle looked threatening against Union SG and created six big chances, and an xG of 2.75 during the match.
Howe’s side have so far struggled to score goals in the Premier League with just four in six games, and that issue must be fixed if the Toon are to progress up the league.