Keane Tears Into Gordon's Illness Excuse While Neville Backs Benched Star

Roy Keane showed little patience with Anthony Gordon's illness on Tuesday evening, questioning the logic behind a player being deemed unfit to start yet ready to contribute from the bench during Newcastle's Champions League last-16 first leg against Barcelona.

Gordon remained sidelined for the opening hour as the Magpies hosted the Spanish giants, only to be introduced at the 67-minute mark. His absence proved costly as Harvey Barnes' early lead evaporated when Lamine Yamal grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser for Barcelona.

Speaking on The Overlap after the match, Keane and Wayne Rooney both struggled to fathom the decision-making. "How can you be ill and come on for half an hour? It's bizarre, isn't it?" Keane asked pointedly.

When Gary Neville attempted to defend Gordon – citing his affable character – Keane was unmoved. "Oh Gary, because you did an interview with him last year and you thought he was a really nice lad! How can you be ill, but come on for half an hour?" he fired back. "You hear managers every week say 'He's not fit enough to start, but he'll be good enough for the bench'. Something might happen after five minutes. I don't get it. If he's that important, start him and take him off after half an hour."

Rooney shared the scepticism. "If you're ill, you're ill. You shouldn't be there," he said, referencing a pre-match conversation with Howe about Gordon potentially having 20 or 30 minutes available. The former Manchester United striker also noted the peculiarity of Gordon declining to shake hands with the punditry team for fear of spreading illness, only to enter the dressing room with his teammates moments later.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe moved to explain himself post-match, framing the situation as an opportunity for Will Osula, who started ahead of summer recruits Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa. "With Anthony, that was this morning," Howe said. "We trained this morning and Ant didn't make it, so that's a pretty good sign that he's not in a great physical condition.

"Doctors and everyone did a great job to get him at the start line for us, albeit for a short period of time. I thought he made a good contribution when he came on. So it meant an opportunity for Will. I think his profile and his qualities were good for this game. His legs, his pace, he's a willing runner against their high defensive line. I thought that was the right choice."

On leaving out Woltemade and Wissa, Howe acknowledged the difficulty. "It's always a tough decision not to play players that I love, but that's part of being a manager and having to pick the team to do what is best for the group," he said.