Anthony Gordon finally got a taste of life as a Newcastle United starter on Saturday afternoon as the Magpies lost 2-0 to Manchester City. The winger was deployed from the outset at the Etihad Stadium as Eddie Howe sought to attack the Premier League champions from the very first whistle.
Gordon is still trying to find his feet in black and white but impressed Howe before he was replaced midway through the second-half. While the former Everton star may not have had an impact in front of goal, he did use a bit of nous to try and gain an advantage over City.
During the first-half, while a drinks break was taking place, Gordon situated himself right next to City's coaches on the touchline. Pretending to be sorting his laces, it appeared the youngster was eavesdropping on the tactical conversation taking place between Pep Guardiola's staff and players.
READ MORE: Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle United: Missed chances and Pep Guardiola tactical switch cost Magpies
None of City's staff had seemed to realise Gordon could hear the tactical discussion until defender Ruben Dias came storming over to push him away from the scene, urging him to move towards the Newcastle technical area. Howe recently admitted he wanted his players to compete rather than be popular - and Gordon has already shown glimpses of that attitude in his short career in the Premier League.
“He’s (Gordon) settling well and I thought he played well today," Howe said at full-time. "He had some really good moments.
"I probably wanted him to have the ball more, to be honest. As a team, we maybe needed to supply the ball to our wide men a little bit quicker. But Anthony can be pleased with his work."
Former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez played a big part in Gordon's success at Everton and the duo reunited on the Etihad touchline before kick-off on Saturday. The pair shared a few words before Newcastle's warm-up with Benitez on punditry duty for BT Sport.
Speaking about his next role in management, the Spaniard admitted he wants to coach raw talent like Gordon in the future. "Always I talk about a project but in football now it’s very difficult," he said.
"You see Anthony Gordon, young players, you can maybe coach young players, you can improve your team and then you can compete."
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