The three Newcastle fixtures Anthony Gordon will miss after red card vs Liverpool
Newcastle United fell to an agonisingly late 3-2 defeat to Liverpool having fought back from two goals down despite Anthony Gordon’s first half red card.
Despite being down to ten men Newcastle fought valiantly, and rallied in the second half despite Hugo Ekitike’s goal less than two minutes into the half seemingly wrapping up the match for Liverpool.
But a header from Bruno Guimaraes followed by a slotted finish from substitute William Osula had seemingly secured a point for the hosts before Rio Ngumoha’s agonising late winner for the visitors.
Eddie Howe now has a dilemma with Gordon suspended, and Sandro Tonali and Joelinton leaving the pitch with injuries.
Anthony Gordon leaves Newcastle in the lurch
Gordon’s rash challenge on Virgil Van Dijk seemed to be when the game, shrouded in the saga around Alexander Isak’s potential move to Liverpool, reached it’s inevitable boiling point.
As a result of the sending off being a straight red card Gordon will now miss Newcastle’s next three league matches, a ban which will see him out until 22 September due to an international break in the first week of September.
The first of those matches is the Magpies’ trip to Leeds United on Saturday, August 30, followed by Newcastle hosting Wolves on Saturday, September 13, and finally a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, September 20.
Gordon will however, be eligible to play in Newcastle’s Champions League opener in the week commencing September 15.
Striker-less Newcastle have cause of concern
Football Insider verdict
As Isak continues to miss out as he pushes for a move away from Newcastle, Gordon was used as a stand-in number nine by Howe.
However, now with Gordon set to miss almost a month of football, and Isak potentially still leaving Newcastle will have to move quickly in the window for a new striker (or two).
| vs Leeds United (A) 17:30 | Saturday, August 30 |
| vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) 15:00 | Saturday, September 13 |
| vs Bournemouth (A) 15:00 | Saturday, September 20 |
Newcastle’s interest in Brentford’s Yoane Wissa is well known and the Magpies also reportedly had a bid for Wolves’ Jorgen Strand Larsen turned down.
Aside from their striker woes, the injuries to Guimaraes and Tonali are equally as damaging to Howe, breaking up their imperious midfield trio, just as the season begins to heat up.
The is justifiable cause for concern among the fanbase as a squad that was already thin in numbers is now potentially short of up to four integral first team players, with a congested schedule around the corner.