Anthony Gordon Criticises Newcastle After Defeat to Sunderland

• Anthony Gordon says loss to Sunderland is “not good enough” despite early lead
• Sunderland complete league double and extend Newcastle’s winless run in derby
• Sven Botman undergoes surgery on facial fracture but could return this season

Anthony Gordon has criticised Newcastle United’s performance after their 2-1 defeat to rivals Sunderland, saying the result was unacceptable.

Sunderland secured a league double over their north-east rivals with victory at St James’ Park, having also won the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

The result extends Newcastle’s winless run against Sunderland to 11 league matches, the longest such streak in the history of the fixture.

Gordon, who opened the scoring before goals from Chemsdine Talbi and Brian Brobbey turned the game around, was critical of his side’s display.

“The frustrating thing is, in my opinion, they’re not a very good team compared to us. We shouldn’t lose to them,” he said.

“At home we should not lose that game. Not with the first half that we had, but again we haven’t been good enough starting second halves and it’s an ongoing problem.”

The defeat sees Newcastle drop to 12th in the table, with Sunderland moving above them.

It follows a difficult period for the club, including an 8-3 aggregate loss to Barcelona in the Champions League.

“It was not good enough really, no excuses,” Gordon added. “We were good for 45 minutes, but that’s been the case too often this season.”

Meanwhile, Sven Botman has undergone surgery on a facial fracture sustained during the match and is expected to return before the end of the season.