—- A pair of penalties from Anthony Gordon and strikes from Nick Woltemade and Harvey Barnes spurred Newcastle United to collect their first points of the Champions League campaign with an emphatic 4-0 away win over Union Saint-Gilloise.
Arsenal were the other English winners, by 2-0 against Olympiaos but Manchester City conceded a late penalty and a 2-2 draw at Monaco.
Newcastle’s win was a positive response after defeat in their opening group phase fixture at home to Barcelona last month.
Woltemade’s goal was a flick that deflected a shot from Sandro Tonali in the 17th minute while Gordon put away penalties on either side of the break.
Substitute Barnes added gloss to the scoreline by finishing off a swift counter-attack 10 minutes from the end to net their fourth at the Anderlecht Stadium, where Union have had to move their Champions League ties.
Newcastle had won only one of their previous 11 away games in European club competition, but they controlled most of the affair despite a spirited showing from their hosts, who were hoping to replicate a shock win at PSV Eindhoven in their group opener.
The first goal came after Anthony Elanga’s cross was cleared only as far as Tonali on the edge of the box, who shot into a crowd of players with Woltemade getting a back heel to the ball, changing its direction and opening the visitors’ account.
Elanga was fouled for the first penalty as he jinked his way off the wing into the Belgian champions’ penalty box, with Fedde Leysen’s challenge catching him on the ankle as he mistimed his tackle. Gordon converted two minutes from halftime.
Leysen then gave away a second penalty for a foul on Woltemade that was not initially given but then awarded after a VAR review. The pictures showed Leysen tugging on Woltemade’s jersey and also handling the ball at the same time, and Gordon dispatched the 64th-minute kick away with similar conviction as he had done with the first.
Gordon then turned provider, winning possession in his own half to set up the fourth goal, quickly dispatching it upfield where Barnes combined with fellow replacement William Osula in a quick counter before smartly finishing.
Arsenal on repeat
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli scored for the second successive Champions League match with his early close-range effort paving the way for a 2-0 home victory over Olympiacos.
When the Brazilian pounced to convert a rebound in the 12th minute to reward Arsenal’s early domination it looked like being a routine night for the north London club.
But they were made to work hard for the win that puts them on six points from their opening two group games and needed a stoppage-time effort by substitute Bukayo Saka to seal it.
Olympiacos boasted an enviable record against Arsenal, winning on their last three visits to The Emirates Stadium, and the Greek side recovered from their early setback to make it an uncomfortable night at times for the hosts.
They were unable to reply though and have only one point from their first two group games.
Monaco salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City with a last-gasp penalty by Eric Dier on Wednesday after the visitors failed to make the most of their domination in the second round of Champions League matches.
Dier buried a penalty in the 90th minute to cancel out Erling Haaland’s first-half double, after Jordan Teze’s early equaliser for the French side.
That denied City what would have been their first away win in the competition in 12 months.
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