🔗 Share this article

As the Benfica manager arrived at St James' Park and praised Eddie Howe and his players, local fans feared a difficult match. However such fears disappeared thanks to a strike from Anthony Gordon and two more from substitute the forward, making sure the visitors' new manager did not inflict any trouble for Howe's team.

Game Flow and Initial Exchanges

Mourinho had forecast that the home side would be extremely aggressive, but his own team displayed their own combative approach. The visitors clearly enjoyed breaking up the Magpies' early efforts to establish a fluent passing tempo.

Compounding Newcastle's issues, two midfielders, Tonali and the Brazilian, began as substitutes as they continued recovering from sickness and a knock each.

Prior to kick-off, the coaches shared a perfunctory, cool greeting, and it soon became clear that the Benfica coach had told his side to quiet the home fans by slowing Newcastle and lowering the temperature at every chance.

Key Moments and Turning Points

The visitors' strategy produced mixed results, but when Gordon and his teammates managed to break through the backline, they initially struggled to create clear opportunities.

Moreover, the Belgium winger Lukebakio nearly demonstrated how to finish when, after leaving Dan Burn behind, he tested Newcastle's keeper with a tremendous shot that required an terrific one-handed save. No wonder Pope retains hope for an national team recall in time for the global tournament.

Yet when Lukebakio hit a further attempt off the woodwork, Newcastle roused themselves. Murphy shot wide, and Benfica's keeper made an excellent near-post stop from Guimaraes before Gordon finally broke the deadlock.

The England winger's scorching pace had caused consternation for Mourinho all evening, and he calmly slotted the first goal past the goalkeeper after his teammate's early cross into the box paid off.

On the occasion the Magpies' intense, pressing game was not second-guessed by Benfica, Jacob Murphy, preferred over £55m Anthony Elanga, was available to deliver a low ball across the face of goal for Gordon to polish off.

Later Stages and Decisive Substitutions

From the beginning, the Portuguese team could not be blamed of parking the bus and seeking a point, but now their players attacked with total abandon. The winger repeatedly showed an skill to destabilize Newcastle's back four, and the Magpies were likely relieved to reset at half-time.

The first half concluded with the keeper again rescuing his team by diverting the attacker's shot wide of the goal frame, and as the sides came out for the second half, the match seemed finely poised.

If Gordon, clearly buoyed by scoring his fourth strike in three European appearances this campaign, played with the zeal of a winger aiming to alter the balance in Newcastle's direction, the Benfica attacker had different ideas.

Mourinho's winger had already emphasized that, while Burn is a capable centre-back, he is not a born full-back, and home hearts were in mouths every time Lukebakio moved forward.

Howe might have felt easier had Miley, filling in for Sandro Tonali, not headed a set-piece above the bar from a good position. Instead, this thrilling game continued to swing from one goal to the other, prompting Newcastle's manager to bring on Joelinton and Barnes in place of Jacob Ramsey and Jacob Murphy.

Mourinho, at the same time, brought on an additional striker in Ivanovic. It would arguably prove a gamble that backfired.

Barnes Seals the Game

Until then, Benfica, and especially their Portuguese back Silva, had performed a good job in limiting Woltemade's room and pushing Newcastle's Germany striker deep. However, with defender Dedic off, the backline was underpowered, and the way was clear for Barnes to prove that Gordon is not the manager's only goal-scoring wide player.

Newcastle's two changes was already paying off by the time Pope sent a superb long throw in the substitute's path. When Silva, for once, misread the bounce, Barnes was clear, sprinting into the area before keeping commendable composure to fire a superb shot past Trubin.

When Harvey Barnes rolled a shot through poor Trubin's feet after receiving Gordon's stellar through ball, it was finished. The Benfica manager had warned that Newcastle have several very fast wingers, and a trio of strikes from two wide men had destroyed his hopes of earning Benfica's first European points of the campaign.