After the La Liga giants’ dramatic 1-1 draw at St James’ Park, Shearer criticized England international Gordon, saying he should have overcome his illness to take to the pitch. After Newcastle beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with Gordon scoring the winning goal, the forward blasted criticism from Shearer and Wayne Rooney as “nonsense” in a post-match interview, saying he had “been in bed for three days”.
Given told TNT Sports: “I think overall the players were a little bit aggressive about what they said. I don’t think any players would be hesitant to play against Barcelona.”
“Actually, I think it will be the opposite after the injury, you will get a few tablets or a few injections just to be on the pitch, because matches like this don’t happen very often.
“I think the last time they played here was about 30 years ago. Every player wants to play. Anthony Gordon has also been unbelievable in the Champions League this year.”
“He wants to be at the top of the scoring list. He doesn’t want to miss a minute. I’m glad he was strong enough to stand up to the people he said he was. Not in a bad way, just his own personality, he was strong and defensive and that was natural.”
After Gordon hit back at Shearer over his comments, the club legend doubled down and admitted he was enjoying the passion the winger-turned-striker was showing.
Speaking on the podcast The Rest is Football, Shearer said:
“I wouldn’t change anything I said last night against Barcelona. I would have missed the game because of my illness. I know the coach said (the decision).”
