Newcastle stars Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier have to be separated by team-mates in bizarre clash as players walked off the pitch with Toon WINNING 5-0 in Champions League play-off
Newcastle’s stunning first half against Qarabag was slightly soured by an apparent row between captain Kieran Trippier and four-goal hero Anthony Gordon.
The Premier League side produced a flawless opening 45 minutes in their Champions League play-off first leg to lead 5-0 courtesy of Gordon’s four goals and Malick Thiaw’s effort.
Gordon scored two goals from the penalty spot and it appears the latter one caused some tension between the goalscorer and Trippier over who was going to take it.
And as the duo walked off the pitch at half-time the pair were still in a heated discussion and had to be separated by team-mates.
Gordon could be seen wagging a finger in Trippier’s direction with that action then reciprocated by his skipper.
As the pair got closer, team-mates Dan Burn and Anthony Elanga stepped in – with the latter pulling the goalscorer away from the argument.
Kieran Trippier (left) and Anthony Gordon (centre right) had to be separated at half-time
The Newcastle duo were arguing despite leading Qarabag 5-0 in their Champions League tie
Dan Burn (left) and Anthony Elanga (right) calmed down Gordon during the peculiar argument
Joe Willock later got involved to calm down matters, checking on Trippier who was still clearly irked by the situation.
Despite the argument though the duo did later make up with the pair hugging as Gordon made way for Jacob Murphy on 68 minutes.
Murphy added a sixth goal for Newcastle as they lead 6-1 on aggregate ahead of Tuesday’s second leg at St James’ Park.
Come full-time Trippier and Gordon were all smiles together as they put their spat behind them, revealing that their disagreement began over who would take their second penalty.
When asked what the argument was about, Trippier, as Gordon giggled to the left of him, said: ‘Obviously, Gordy scored a hat-trick and I think I, and all the other players, wanted to take the penalty, but he’s out penalty taker.
‘He wants to score goals, as everybody else does, but ultimately he is the penalty taker. In football, emotions are high on the pitch at times and it is what it is. He scored five goals, he was unbelievable today, and we move on.’
Gordon added: ‘Yeah, I understand everyone’s opinion because I want everyone to succeed and we should be in it together. But I’m an attacker and the penalty taker, I want to score as many goals as I possible can.
‘I understood everyone’s opinion and emotions do get high. But, he’s one of my closest team-mates, he has been since I joined the club, he’s done so much for me. So, yeah, he’s alright.’
The night belonged to Gordon who scored a 33-minute hat-trick during his four-goal first-half salvo.
Netting in the third, 32nd, 33rd and 45th-minute stoppage time of the knockout phase play-off, he now holds the record for the fastest-ever hat-trick by an English player in the Champions League.
Mike Newell famously scored three in an astonishing nine minutes for Blackburn Rovers in the Champions League against Rosenborg in December 1995 but his last goal was scored in the 40th minute, making Gordon’s faster in terms of when the strikes occurred in the tie.
Gordon’s three goals are also the fastest to have been scored by a player for an English club in the Champions League, and his fourth makes him the only English player to have scored as many in the first-half of a game in Europe’s premier competition.
The 24-year-old is now second in the Champions League top-scorers list with 10 goals, only behind Kylian Mbappe, who has 13 goals. Five of the Englishman’s goals have been penalties, while only three of the Real Madrid star’s have been from the spot.
The hat-trick was a career first for Gordon and his fourth strike made him just the second player in the Champions League to have bagged four in the first-half of a Champions League game.
Gordon scored four first-half goals for Newcastle away to Qarabag on Wednesday night
Luiz Adriano, while playing for Shahktar Donetsk against BATE Borisov, was the first to achieve the feat in 2014.
The Englishman also becomes just the latest player in the competition’s history to score four in one game, joining an illustrious list which includes the likes of Haaland, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mbappe.
Only Haaland, Messi and Adriano have scored five in one Champions League game, with the Barcelona legend’s coming against Bayer Leverkusen in March 2012. Meanwhile, Adriano’s came in the tie against BATE and Haaland’s came against RB Leipzig in March 2023.
Gordon’s goals also saw him surpass Alan Shearer’s Champions League record of seven during the legend’s time at St James’ Park.
