Anthony Gordon delivered a historic performance as Newcastle United stormed to a 6-1 victory over Qarabag in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie, putting the Magpies firmly in control of their qualification destiny.

Gordon's Four-Touchstone First Half

The England international struck four times before halftime, becoming only the second player in Champions League history to achieve the feat in the opening 45 minutes—matching Luiz Adriano’s heroics for Shakhtar Donetsk in 2014. Gordon opened the scoring just 122 seconds into the match, finishing coolly from Dan Burn’s pass, and within nine minutes Malick Thiaw doubled the lead with a powerful header from a Kieran Trippier cross.

Gordon’s third and fourth goals both came from the penalty spot, after he was fouled in the box following a handball and a defensive lapse by Qarabag. Despite captain Trippier signaling to take one of the penalties, Gordon stepped up and converted both, completing a hat-trick in just 33 minutes—the fastest ever by an English player in Champions League history.

Comprehensive Dominance

Newcastle’s dominance was clear in the statistics: they registered 5.48 expected goals (xG) from 22 shots, compared to Qarabag’s mere 0.46 xG from eight attempts. Gordon alone contributed 3.36 xG and led all players with six shots (all on target), 11 touches in the box, and 11 passes in the final third.

Elvin Cafarquliyev pulled one back for the hosts after a VAR review overturned an initial offside call, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Jacob Murphy sealed the 6-1 win with a deflected long-range strike late in the game.

Historic Achievements and Manager’s Praise

The victory marks Newcastle’s highest-ever tally in European competition. Gordon also surpassed Alan Shearer (6 goals) to become the club’s all-time top scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals. He is now just one behind Harry Kane (11) as only the second Englishman to reach double figures in a single Champions League campaign.

Manager Eddie Howe hailed the team’s performance, particularly praising Gordon’s relentless pressing and clinical finishing.

"He was really good in that first half. He started the press, a number of his goals came from his attitude off the ball. He could have had more, but a very good display,"

Howe added: "Overall, it's a great day for us. We know the tie isn't dead or over, but we are in a great position." Newcastle became only the second team ever to lead a Champions League knockout game by five goals at halftime, after Bayern Munich did so against Porto in 2015. All teams that have scored five or more in the first leg of a European Cup tie have gone on to progress, giving the Magpies strong momentum ahead of the return leg at St James’ Park.

Looking Ahead

With a commanding lead, Newcastle are heavy favorites to advance to the Champions League league phase. However, Howe emphasized the importance of maintaining focus: "We wanted to keep the momentum in the second half. The game changed, and they played lower on the pitch, which made it more difficult for us."

As the city of Newcastle prepares for the celebratory second leg, Gordon’s sensational display has etched his name into European football history—and possibly signaled the emergence of a new English force on the continental stage.