Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon was praised by Brentford’s Ben Mee in the wake of their 1-0 victory over Brentford at the weekend.

Mee’s praise came amid criticism – however, his ire was not directed at any of the Newcastle players. Instead, the Bees defender took issue with the manner in which the Toon were awarded a penalty.

The penalty itself almost came from nowhere – Gordon put pressure on Brentford as they tried to play out from the back. From this, just as the ball was about to go out of play, he nipped and drew a foul from goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

Callum Wilson calmly dispatched the resulting spot kick, scoring the only goal of the game as Newcastle ended their three-match losing streak with a much-needed victory.

What did Brentford’s Ben Mee say regarding Anthony Gordon?

Speaking on The Final Word, Mee said: “I think as the manager [Thomas Frank] said then, the keeper’s pulled out of it. Obviously, [Anthony] Gordon has been very clever with the use of his body, his back’s sort of turned into the keeper and sort of bought the contact and bought the foul.

“It’s not a penalty and the referee initially says, not for me, he’s stood next to one of our players and then the linesman saying that he thinks it’s a penalty.

“For me, if one’s saying yes, one’s saying no and you all of a sudden come to the conclusion that it is a penalty rather than going to the screen to VAR then it’s a difficult one to take really.”

Is Anthony Gordon the most improved player in the Newcastle United squad?

When Gordon joined Newcastle in January, Toon fans were somewhat disappointed with the deal. Not only did he cost Newcastle a sum of £40 million, he also appeared to be far from the finished product.

He certainly looked green during his first few games at St. James’ Park – however, his development has come along leaps and bounds since then.

Certainly, he has shown his intelligence on the pitch – not to mention an increased work rate. If he continues to turn in good performances, he could become one of the most important players for the Mags.