Dortmund emerged from St. James Park with a 1-0 win over Newcastle in the Champions League to turn Group F on its head.
Newcastle had chances to snatch a draw late on- hitting the bar through a Wilson header and a deflected effort from Gordon deep into added time- but the Bundesliga outfit held on for a vital win.
Here are the five things we learned from the result.
Anthony Gordon – Superstar in the making?
With England winning the U21 European Championships this past summer, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon deservedly took home player of the tournament. The Englishman has continued his impressive run of form to start the season, and has become a mainstay in the Newcastle starting eleven.
With the ability to play off either the left or right flank, Gordon is quickly becoming an invaluable player for Eddie Howe. The English international once again proved his quality versus Dortmund, especially in the first half which saw him popping up everywhere in the final third and coming agonisingly close to scoring the opener in the 11th minute.
After struggling to make his mark on the team at the tail end of last season, Gordon looks as though he has finally found his feet on Tyneside, and to the hopes of the Geordie faithful, long may it continue.
Lascelles excels
Since coming back into the starting eleven for the injured Sven Botman, club captain Jamal Lascelles has been nothing short of exceptional.
Newcastle have conceded only four goals when Lascelles has started this season, and while he is certainly helped by the quality brought to the back line by Kieran Tripper, Fabian Schär and Dan Burn, the Englishman’s must not be underplayed.
Lascelles remains the club captain, and his performance versus Dortmund proved just why Eddie Howe places such trust in the centre-half. Lascelles commanded the back line, remaining composed when on the ball and winning back possession comfortably.
With the way Lascelles is playing, Sven Botman’s return to the Newcastle starting eleven may not be as straightforward as he might have previously hoped.
Signal Iduna Task
At the halfway point of the UCL group stages, Newcastle go into match day four third in Group F. Despite falling short on the day, the Magpies have certainly shown they are capable of picking up points at St. James’ Park when backed by the Geordie faithful.
But with the upcoming visits to Signal Iduna Park and the Parc des Princes, Eddie Howe may have his toughest challenge yet as Newcastle manager. The Dortmund fans were out in full force at St. James’, with not a moment’s silence coming from the nosebleeds of the stadium where the away fans reside.
Newcastle passed the test and brought home a point from the San Siro, but with the pandemonium that is the yellow wall of the Dortmund faithful, it may prove to be a much harder task to bring home points from Germany.
Willock returns to action
Much to the delight of the Geordie faithful, Joe Willock made his return to action in the 70th minute versus Dortmund. Willock has been a notable absentee from Eddie Howe’s side since May with a hamstring injury.
Despite missing the run-in last term, Willock was a mainstay in the Magpie midfield last season and played a key role in helping return Champions League football to St. James’ Park last season. With Sandro Tonali potentially being banned for 10 months due to a betting scandal while an AC Milan player,
Eddie Howe will be hoping Joe Willock can return to his finest form as quickly as possible to bolster the Newcastle midfield.
Dortmund one to watch in Group F
In a UCL group comprised of the Ligue 1 Champions, last year’s UCL semi-finalists and a Newcastle side with a point to prove, many would have written off the German side who lost their best player to Real Madrid this past summer.
But at the halfway stage of the UCL group stage, Dortmund go into matchday four second in Group F. Dortmund were the better team on the day versus Newcastle, comfortably playing out of the high press which picked apart the Parisians at St. James’ three weeks before.
Dortmund still have two home matches to play in the group stage, and backed by the famous yellow wall, the German side have put themselves in an extremely favourable position going into the final three group stage games.
