What Anthony Gordon’s full Barcelona debut proved about his £70m fee | OneFootball

Sitting in the gods of the Spotify Camp Nou, there is one player that sticks out like a sore thumb. Amidst the plethora of bronzed La Masia graduates stands a paler man - the palest man - with his strawberry blonde curtains and Factor 50 sheen (as someone who also struggles to tan, I know the look).

Anthony Gordon does not have the look of a Barcelona player. For good reason, that didn’t put the Spanish giants off. On his first start, his maiden home outing, he gave every impression he belonged here.

Gordon had already set the tone by bagging two assists within six minutes of coming off the bench in a debut cameo against Elche last weekend, which saw Barcelona run out 5-0 winners. What was otherwise a perfect start to their LaLiga season was marred after Spanish police clashed with fans and allegedly confiscated Estelada flags, the symbol of the Catalan independence movement.

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Anthony Gordon had already set the tone at Barcelona going into his home bow (Getty)

This resulted in Barca cancelling the planned World Cup celebration for their Spain contingent - which of course included new signing Rodri - ahead of their home opener against Athletic Club on Thursday night, another team defined by its fierce sense of regional belonging, from the Basque Country. Instead, Barcelona staged a rousing demonstration of Catalan independence, distributing thousands of Estelada flags to fans which were then lifted to fill the stands during their iconic anthem.

As a Liverpudlian, Gordon will understand the passion of cultural separatism. But politics, if at all, is not solely where he and Barca clearly align. Already, he seems to just get how to play on this massive stage for this massive club.

The 25-year-old is clearly enjoying the tactical shift from Premier League to LaLiga which is giving him freedom to showcase his footballing instincts. No longer is he faced with the low block, charged with driving at defenders and seeing what sticks. He’s actually being challenged, and he likes it.

Time and time again against Athletic, he was charged down by two or three players in turquoise, and would adeptly dart out of tight crannies and into space left by the aggressors. In the first half, this sparked Barcelona’s best sweeping moves from left to right; Gordon started it, and Lamine Yamal was tasked with finishing it.

Raphinha completed Hansi Flick’s dynamite front three on this night, and Gordon was the perfect complement to two of the world’s best attackers. Always a willing runner, he provided early intensity and pressed Athletic out of possession twice inside the first two minutes. His movement also regularly created space for his attacking colleagues to shine.

His unselfishness was evident; we saw this against Elche when, clean through, he sacrificed the chance for a debut goal to give Fermin Lopez a tap in. He tried to do the same after breaking into the box and again going for the lay-off over the shot. This time, he was brought down but appeals for a penalty fell on deaf ears of the referee.

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Gordon shone in tight spaces under the press of Athletic Club players (Getty)

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Barcelona cancelled their World Cup celebrations and staged a demonstration of Catalan independence (Getty)

The forward trio turned more fluid after the break. Within the minute of the restart, this brought about Gordon’s best chance to score of the game, but he blazed over inside the box. A few minutes later, rain began to fall; maybe that familiar feeling would have given the Englishman the coolness needed in such a precious moment.

There was a sense that the winger, still very much learning how to harness such a galvanising atmosphere, had the tendency to let his emotions get away from him. Newcastle fans know all about this; needless red cards against Liverpool in the league and Brighton in the cup come to mind from the past 18 months.

He wasn’t scared of being mouthy, which led to an animated warning from the referee. He was then lucky to escape without a booking for a crunching tackle on Yeray Alvarez.

That’s not to say the home faithful didn’t eat this up, on top of his good football. When Gordon’s number went up in the 80th minute, he got a standing ovation. They’re already chanting his name.

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Gordon (left) already looks at home in Barcelona after his full LaLiga debut (Reuters)

He was replaced by another shiny new toy in Karim Adeyemi, who set up a goal within two minutes of his introduction - Barca’s second of a 2-0 win. A reminder of the blatantly obvious: that competition is stiff at Barcelona.

The Blaugrana, however, have invested in Gordon to be a top star. His £70m price tag is reflective of that.

Some cackled at that fee when it came out pre-World Cup; “why not go for Marcus Rashford for half the price?” Now, seeing that Yankuba Minteh and Savio are commanding similar fees with their combined four Premier League goals last term, Barcelona appear to have struck real value in a maddening winger market.