Anthony Gordon has admitted he still has "a lot of individual work to do" after Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 4-2 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The former Newcastle United winger, who has made an immediate impact at the Camp Nou since his summer move, was part of a Barcelona side that saw their long winning start to the campaign come to an abrupt end at the home of the Champions League holders.
A High-Scoring Contest in Paris
A free-flowing game produced 40 attempts on goal, with PSG taking the lead through Desire Doue before Barcelona equalised through Xavi Espart. Lucas Hernandez restored the home side's advantage, only for Lamine Yamal to level once more. Late goals from Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz sealed the win for the French side.
Gordon, who started in his usual left-wing role before moving to a central striker position, was honest in his assessment of the performance.
Gordon's Honest Assessment
"I think it was pretty predictable that it would be a high score and a good show for the spectators," he said. "I expected us to come out on top, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I think, in the end, they deserved it. I felt they were the better team, they had better spells and showed more quality."
"Physically, they were able to maintain the pressure and intensity for longer than we were. They've been the team to beat for two years now, and tonight it became clear why," he added.
Despite the defeat, Gordon stressed the need to focus on the positives: "I think we should focus on the positives, as we competed at a high level. It was a competitive spectacle. Now we need to analyze what we need to improve, but I think we're in a good position."
Positional Flexibility
On being deployed in several roles, Gordon said: "It doesn't matter to me. I like playing in both positions because each one offers me different things. I enjoy both, but beyond that, the team's overall performance tonight was very good."
"As for me, I still have a lot of individual work to do; on nights like this I want to perform at my best, and I don't think I had my best performance," he admitted.
Spanish outlet Marca gave Gordon a 6/10 rating for his display, one of their more generous marks on the night.
