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When the Benfica manager came at Newcastle's stadium and praised Newcastle's coach and his squad, local fans were concerned about a difficult game. But those fears vanished thanks to a goal from the winger and two more from replacement the forward, making sure Benfica's new manager did not inflict any trouble for Howe's team.

Game Dynamics and Initial Action

The Benfica boss had predicted that Newcastle would be extremely aggressive, but his own team displayed their similar aggressive style. The visitors clearly delighted in disrupting Newcastle's initial attempts to establish a fluent passing rhythm.

Adding to the home team's issues, key midfielders, Sandro Tonali and the Brazilian, began on the bench as they continued recovering from sickness and a knock each.

Prior to the start, the two managers exchanged a brief, reserved greeting, and it quickly became clear that the Benfica coach had told his team to subdue the crowd by slowing the game and lowering the intensity at every chance.

Critical Moments and Decisive Actions

The visitors' tactic yielded mixed results, but when Gordon and his teammates managed to dismantle the defensive barricades, they at first struggled to create clear opportunities.

Additionally, the Belgian winger Dodi Lukebakio almost showed how to finish when, after leaving Dan Burn on the ground, he tested Nick Pope with a tremendous shot that required an terrific one-handed stop. It's no surprise the goalkeeper still hopes for an national team recall in time for the World Cup.

Yet when Lukebakio hit another shot off the woodwork, the home side roused themselves. Murphy shot wide, and Anatoliy Trubin made an excellent close-range save from Bruno Guimaraes before Anthony Gordon finally opened the deadlock.

Gordon's scorching speed had created problems for the Benfica coach all evening, and he neatly slotted the first goal past Trubin after Murphy's quick cross into the area proved effective.

On the occasion Newcastle's hard, pressing game was not second-guessed by Benfica, Jacob Murphy, preferred over £55m Anthony Elanga, was there to deliver a low cross across the goal for the winger to finish.

Later Stages and Match-Winning Changes

Right from the start, the Portuguese team could not be blamed of defending deeply and seeking a point, but now their players attacked with real freedom. Lukebakio repeatedly showed an ability to unsettle Newcastle's back four, and the home team were likely relieved to regroup at the break.

The first half concluded with Pope again rescuing his side by diverting the attacker's shot around the post, and as the teams emerged for the second half, everything seemed finely poised.

If Anthony Gordon, clearly boosted by scoring his fourth goal in three European games this campaign, played with the zeal of a winger aiming to alter the balance in his team's direction, Lukebakio had different ideas.

The manager's No 11 had previously shown that, while Dan Burn is a capable central defender, he is not a natural full-back, and home fans were nervous every time Lukebakio advanced.

The Newcastle manager might have felt easier had Miley, deputising for Tonali, not directed a corner over the bar from a good position. Instead, this thrilling contest continued to move from end to end, persuading Newcastle's manager to introduce the midfielder and Harvey Barnes in place of Ramsey and Murphy.

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

Barnes Seals the Match

Before that, Benfica, and especially their Portugal back Antonio Silva, had performed a fine job in limiting Nick Woltemade's space and pushing Newcastle's Germany centre-forward back. But now, with right-back Amar Dedic off, the defense was weakened, and the path was clear for Barnes to prove that Anthony Gordon is not the manager's only goal-scoring winger.

The home side's two changes was already proving effective by the time the goalkeeper dispatched a superb throw in the substitute's direction. When Silva, for once, misread the flight, the winger was away, sprinting into the penalty box before maintaining commendable composure to lash a sublime strike past the keeper.

When Harvey Barnes rolled a shot through poor Trubin's legs after meeting Gordon's excellent through ball, it was all over. Mourinho had warned that the Magpies have several very fast wide attackers, and three goals from two wingers had destroyed his chances of securing Benfica's first Champions League points of the season.