Newcastle United 1-2 Barcelona, UEFA Champions League: Magpies Proved ‘We Can Compete With Anyone’, Says Gordon

Anthony Gordon believes Newcastle United proved "we can compete with anyone", despite opening their Champions League campaign with defeat to Barcelona.

The Magpies' return to Europe's premier club competition began with a 2-1 reverse against Hansi Flick's side, for whom Marcus Rashford's second-half brace settled the contest.

Newcastle enjoyed just 35.5% of possession and recorded 10 shots to Barca's 19, though they did outperform their opponents' xG of 1.31 (1.46).

However, Eddie Howe's side appeared to miss the boat during the first half, when Gordon miskicked from in front of goal before Harvey Barnes was brilliantly denied by Joan Garcia.

Gordon, back in the side after serving a domestic suspension, did manage to get on the scoresheet with a close-range finish in the 90th minute, but it was too late for Newcastle, who have now lost each of their last three Champions League home matches.

Nevertheless, the winger thinks the Magpies demonstrated their credentials, and have reason to be optimistic going forward in the competition.

"They're one of the top three teams in the world right now, they're one of the best teams I've played against," he said. 

"We're not going to come up against teams better than them, in my opinion, or if we are then it's going to be a similar level. But I didn't see much in the game. I didn't see much quality difference.

"I thought we hung in the game, we had chances, so we can compete with anyone. I think we can be really proud of how we performed against a team like that. 

"The past few months have been really difficult for me. I've had two red cards. Just to be back in some positive news and get some momentum behind me is really good."

Howe, meanwhile, praised a "whole-hearted, gutsy display" from his side, but acknowledged the Magpies were made to pay for not capitalising when they had momentum during the first half.

"We were really in the game. I never felt we were out of it," he told TNT Sports. "I'm disappointed we didn't score the first goal. That was crucial. We had the chances to do it.

"It was a whole-hearted, gutsy display, but maybe lacking the quality to get us the win. We wanted to create a difficult environment with high-octane football. I think it was there. We didn't get the bounce of the ball off the presses.

"The chances were there in the first half. Against teams like this, you won't get many. We got punished.

"These nights are only magical for us if we win. But we'll learn and grow our game from nights like this. We kept going until the end. That's what we pride ourselves on."