Anthony Gordon rates his Barcelona start ahead of Aston Villa clash: ‘I don’t know, a 7.5?’

Anthony Gordon rates his Barcelona start ahead of Aston Villa clash: ‘I don’t know, a 7.5?’ Barcelona will be aiming to return to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League tomorrow when they take on Aston Villa at the Spotify Camp Nou. The Blaugrana suffered a 4-2 defeat to PSG in their last European fixture, following which they fell to another loss to Real Madrid in La Liga. Barcelona bounced back to winning ways this past weekend, though, thrashing Alaves 6-1 at Camp Nou, and will be eager to build on that with another victory. Ahead of tomorrow’s contest, Anthony Gordon joined Hansi Flick for the pre-match press conference and addressed various matters, including his solid start at Barcelona since joining the club in the summer. On playing for Barcelona Kicking things off, the England international was asked to rate his season so far in the Blaugrana colours, to which he replied: “Out of 10? I don’t know, a 7.5? We haven’t seen the best of Gordon yet; I can give much more. I’m still settling in with my family – it’s always a bit of a difficult.” Talking about his adaptation in the Barça locker room, Gordon revealed: “Those who speak English, like Eric, are the ones who can help me the most, but everyone is very friendly – Flick too – and they make it easy for you. “As for the rest, I just focus on giving my best, whether I’m playing for five minutes or the whole match.” Further elaborating on the topic, he later added: “I’m still getting used to the culture, the team and the players – figuring out what sort of pass they’re going to play so I can run in one direction or another. “It’s still early days; I’ve been here three months and I’ll get better.” Gordon has settled in well at Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Discussing the mental challenge of playing for a club like Barcelona, the English winger explained: “It’s essential, not just in football, but in life too. The challenge at Barça is different from the one I faced at other clubs, and it helps you grow; the pressure to win trophies is better than the pressure to avoid relegation or to qualify for the Champions League.” Gordon also highlighted the one area that he felt he needed to improve, saying: “I can be more selfish at times – not pass the ball around so much, try to score more goals, which is a way of helping the team, and make better decisions.” On what has surprised him the most about Barcelona, Gordon explained: “Everything is different; I’d never lived outside England before, but I’m happy here in a great country with lovely weather, good food and lovely people. “That might be the surprise – there are no big egos in the dressing room; everyone is friendly.” On Barcelona’s form and facing Aston Villa As for tomorrow’s opponents, Aston Villa, the winger had words of praise, saying: “A great team, always focused, biding their time, and they’re on a good run.” At the same time, Gordon insisted that Barcelona need to own up to their poor results against PSG and Real Madrid, elaborating: “We have to take responsibility for the two defeats. We can beat anyone. We went into the match against PSG more tired than they were. “Against Madrid I think we were the better side – we had more chances – but we didn’t play our best football and they scored two goals through talented players. I hope to face both of them again.” Ready for Aston Villa. (Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images) The winger also expressed his gratitude towards the Barcelona fans, who have warmed up to him very soon, saying: “I wasn’t expecting this connection with the stands; I love it and it makes me even more keen to try and do things better. I hope I can repay them with goals.” On whether facing an English club like Aston Villa fills him with greater motivation, Gordon noted: “I simply said I’d never played in a system like Barça’s before, and it’s something that works in my favour, but I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. “It doesn’t motivate me any more just because they’re an English side; my motivation is consistent.” Source: Mundo Deportivo