Anthony Gordon hits out at pundits for talking ‘nonsense’ as he takes aim at Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer | OneFootball

Anthony Gordon has publicly challenged pundits Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer, suggesting they need to "get better at what they’re doing" after they questioned his limited involvement in Newcastle’s recent Champions League fixture.

The forward was introduced as a second-half substitute during Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona at St. James’s Park, having been unable to train for several days due to illness.

Rooney and Shearer, who were covering the match pitchside, made remarks regarding Gordon’s absence from the starting line-up.

Speaking on Match of the Day, following his goal that secured Newcastle’s first victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in 14 years, the 25-year-old addressed the criticism directly.

"Usually I don’t like to clear stuff up because I don’t care too much, but this one does need clearing up because it was just nonsense," Gordon stated.

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Gordon said he was not happy to not start Newcastle’s game against Barcelona (PA Wire)

He elaborated on his situation: "When I got to the stadium (on Tuesday) the manager told me I wasn’t playing, which I didn’t like very much, but that’s his decision and the team played well. Saying I didn’t want to play in the biggest game of my career is absolute nonsense."

Gordon also refuted a specific claim made by Rooney. "I think Rooney said I went past and didn’t shake their hands and went into the changing room. I didn’t.

“I got changed by myself in a changing room the size of this. It was just me and a sink. Complete nonsense. I think they need to do better at what they are doing."

During Tuesday’s broadcast, Shearer had commented that it would take "something extraordinary to keep myself out of this game," while Roy Keane expressed bewilderment on The Overlap as to why Gordon was fit enough to come on as a substitute but not to start.

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Alan Shearer questioned why Gordon was well enough to come off the bench but not to start (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Archive)

Gordon’s decisive goal in west London, a tap-in from Joe Willock’s unselfish pass, came after Newcastle exploited Chelsea’s disorganised press, condemning the Blues to their fourth home Premier League defeat of the season.

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior attributed the goal to a defensive lapse. "It was a tactical issue," he explained.

"We press in a different way to most teams. It’s a new way of pressing. We don’t step on the press and then we don’t cover in the position that we should have done. Mistakes happen.

“They had nothing in the game and we gave them a goal. The press was the reason they had to kick long balls back to us. It feels like at the moment, every mistake we’re making is ending up in the back of our net."