Media react to Anthony Gordon display v PSG as Barcelona star drops ‘not at my best’ admission

Barcelona star Anthony Gordon was well marshalled against PSG in the Champions League

The media were not exactly glowing in praise for England star Anthony Gordon after Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday night as the LaLiga champions were served a 4-2 beating at the home of European champions PSG.

Hansi Flick’s side are being touted as one of the favourites to win this season’s competition after an outstanding start to the campaign that has seen them win all 11 of the games they had played so far, firing in an astonishing 48 goals so far.

However, they met their match against Luis Enrique’s two-time defending champions at the Parc des Princes, with their hosts underlining their own UCL credentials as they collected a thrilling win.

Barcelona started with a front four of Gordon, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, but despite scoring their 49th and 50th goals of the campaign already, they were far from their best on the night – and with Gordon coming in for some strong criticism for his display.

Dropping him a 6/10 rating, Barcauniversal stated: ‘Gordon had a mixed night against PSG. He was, by far, one of the Barcelona players who lost possession the most and who looked out of sync with the buildup in closed areas.

‘Yet, he was the one fresh link on the break who made counter-attacks possible and even got into great scoring positions. His hesitation to shoot, however, cost the team two golden chances in the first half. Marked his man very poorly for PSG’s second goal.’

Sports Illustrated were equally unimpressed, rating him 6.2 and stating: ‘Granted acres of space regularly but he could do little against the timeless Marquinhos. Failed to get much of anything going.’

The False9 were less complimentary, offering only a 5/10 and stating simply: ‘Quiet night with little to show for it.’

Goal.com also said the former Newcastle winger was lacking, with their 6/10 rating, saying: ‘Gordon provided much-needed industry and pace on the left flank. While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, his high-intensity pressing forced PSG into several errors, though his final delivery lacked the precision required to break down a compact defence.’

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Amid the negativity, there is perhaps no bigger critic of the 25-year-old than the player himself, who admitted after the game he was far from his best and in need of a big improvement.

“I’ve got a lot of individual work to do because on these nights, I really want to perform and I don’t think tonight I was at my best,” Gordon told the media after the game.

Assessing his side’s display overall, he also admitted PSG deserved their win.

“I think it was predictable that it would be a high-scoring game: a good spectacle for the fans to watch, but I expected us to go out there and show our best. Unfortunately, we never did,” he admitted.

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“They deserved the victory. They were the better team on the field: they had better moments, with more quality,” he pointed out, before adding: “I felt that athletically they were able to withstand the pressure and intensity for longer than we were.

“They’ve been the team to beat for two years, and tonight was a great example of why.”

Since joining Barca, Gordon has two goals and five assists in 11 appearances so far; far from too bad, but perhaps down on where he would want to be in a side bursting with attacking talent and with competition for places as fierce as it is.

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