Anthony Gordon grabs four as Newcastle hit Qarabag for six in playoff

Before kick-off Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov warned that Newcastle have “a style of play that does not suit us”, but by the 20th minute the hosts were comprehensively outplayed. Qarabag were overwhelmed by Newcastle’s pace and Anthony Gordon in particular; Gordon scored four times, taking his Champions League tally this season to 10, and the 1,998 Newcastle fans in Baku witnessed a dominant display.

Dan Burn threaded a perfectly weighted pass for Gordon’s opener and Malick Thiaw headed in from a clever Kieran Trippier corner for the second. Gordon added a penalty after a handball by Matteus Silva, completed his hat-trick after dispossessing Kevin Medina and rounding Mateusz Kochalski, then converted another spot-kick following a foul by Kochalski that sparked a row over who should take it.

Qarabag’s goalkeeper nevertheless kept the score from becoming more one-sided, and Elvin Cafarquliyev’s low second-half strike briefly gave the hosts something to cheer.

anthony gordon, newcastle, qarabag, champions league, baku, dan burn, kieran trippier, malick thiaw, mateusz kochalski, gurban gurbanov