WATCH: Trippier and Gordon explain heated exchange during Qarabag 1-6 Newcastle
There was a lot for fans to like and appreciate following our resounding 6-1 win over Qarabag in Baku on Wednesday night.
With one foot already in the Champions League last 16, the mouthwatering prospect of a rematch against Barcelona, or a two-legged clash against Chelsea, will appeal greatly to the fans, Eddie Howe and the entire squad.
But despite a near-perfect night in Azerbaijan, one sour moment has drawn an unfortunate amount of attention: a brief altercation between Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon seemingly over the second penalty that the latter scored.
And after the game, the pair addressed the ‘incident’ in full, and thankfully cooler heads have prevailed once again…
Gordon and Trippier settle penalty debate
Late in the first half, and as they were walking off the pitch for half time, Gordon and Trippier were caught arguing: an unexpected sight after such a dominant first half performance.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, the pair were in a much calmer, happier mood with one another, with both putting down the argument to the intensity of the situation and emotions naturally getting the better of both men.
Watch the full post-match interview below, followed by their quotes in full.
"Emotions do get high but he's one of my closest teammates" 😅
Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon settle their feud and reflect on a brilliant Newcastle performance...
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Kieran Trippier: “Obviously Gordy scored a hat trick, and obviously I think some of the other players wanted to take a penalty. But also he’s our penalty taker, so he wants to score goals as everyone does, but ultimately he’s the penalty taker.
“It’s football. Emotions are high on the pitch at times, but it is what it is. He scored four goals, he was unbelievable today, now we move on.”
Anthony Gordon: “I understand everyone’s opinion. I want everyone to succeed in the team, but I’m an attacker, I’m the penalty taker, so I want to score as many goals as I possibly can.
“But I understood everyone’s opinion. Emotions do get high, but he’s one of my closest teammates, he always has been since I joined the club, so yeah he’s alright (laughs).”
We know Trippier is no stranger to wanting everyone to have their chance in the limelight, particularly on the Champions League stage: his spontaneous choice to give Lewis Miley the captain’s armband against PSV in front of the St James’ Park crowd was a truly heartwarming moment and one entirely of Trippier’s doing.
It seems he was keen to see another member of the team take the spot kick, given we were 4-0 up at the time and Gordon had already got his hat-trick. However, our designated penalty taker has every right to keep the ball, unless instructed otherwise by Howe, especially when he's behind only Kylian Mbappe in the top scorer charts!
