TalkSPORT pundit loved ‘absolutely fantastic’ Newcastle forward’s defensive work yesterday

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Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon worked his socks off against Crystal Palace yesterday, contributing at both ends of the pitch.

Speaking on TalkSPORT (21/10 3:49pm), pundit Michael Gray was blown away by the 22-year-old’s performance.

Eddie Howe will be absolutely delighted with how his side played yesterday.

They never allowed Crystal Palace to get into the game and took an early lead through the impressive Jacob Murphy.

Kieran Trippier starred again as Palace gave him way too much space and the visitors never looked like they were going to threaten Nick Pope’s goal.

One player who has been improving every game this season is Anthony Gordon.

His £45m price tag raised some eyebrows in January, but he’s quickly beginning to justify that transfer fee.

Gordon starred again against Crystal Palace and epitomised why he’s becoming such an important player for Newcastle.

Howe puts huge demands on his players and expects them to give 100% at all times.

The England-Under 21 international looks like he understands this completely right now.

Gordon puts in standout performance for Newcastle vs. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace were on the counterattack in the first half but Anthony Gordon nicked back the ball and won a free-kick from Jordan Ayew.

Pundit Michael Gray was very impressed and said: “Brilliant, that’s the attitude that’s expected from Eddie Howe’s men.

“If you don’t work hard you’re not in the starting 11. Anthony Gordon has been absolutely fantastic defensively.

“We can talk as much as you like about how good Newcastle have been in those forward positions, but you’ve got to work hard when you haven’t got the ball.

“[He’s] helping out his full-back Dan Burn, he just slid in, actually won his side a foul as well.”

It’s unsurprising judging by his recent performances that Newcastle had to fight off several top clubs to sign Anthony Gordon this year.

He didn’t produce a huge number of goals and assists while at Everton but he offers much more than that to the side.

Crystal Palace struggled to deal with Gordon’s energy and he did brilliantly to score Newcastle’s second goal at the back post.

He’ll be hoping his performance yesterday was enough to earn him a start against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.