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As Jose Mourinho came at St James' Park and praised Eddie Howe and his squad, home supporters were concerned about a tough match. However such fears disappeared thanks to a strike from the winger and two more from replacement the forward, ensuring Benfica's new manager did not inflict any trouble for Howe's team.

Game Dynamics and Initial Action

The Benfica boss had predicted that the home side would be very physical, but his Benfica players displayed their own combative style. Benfica certainly delighted in disrupting Newcastle's early efforts to establish a smooth passing tempo.

Compounding Newcastle's issues, key players, Tonali and Joelinton, started on the bench as they were recovering from sickness and a knock each.

Prior to the start, the two managers shared a perfunctory, cool greeting, and it quickly became apparent that Mourinho had told his team to subdue the crowd by delaying Newcastle and reducing the temperature whenever possible.

Critical Events and Turning Points

The visitors' tactic produced varied results, but when Gordon and his teammates succeeded to dismantle the defensive barricades, they at first found it hard to generate clear opportunities.

Moreover, the Belgian attacker Lukebakio almost demonstrated how to finish when, after beating Dan Burn behind, he tested Newcastle's keeper with a powerful shot that got an excellent one-handed save. No wonder Pope retains hope for an national team recall in time for the global tournament.

Yet when the winger directed another attempt off the woodwork, the home side roused themselves. Jacob Murphy shot wide, and Anatoliy Trubin made an excellent close-range save from Bruno Guimaraes before Gordon at last opened the scoreless tie.

The England winger's scorching speed had caused problems for Mourinho all night, and he neatly slotted the first goal past the goalkeeper after his teammate's early ball into the area paid off.

When Newcastle's intense, pressing game was not anticipated by Benfica, Murphy, chosen over the expensive signing, was available to pass a low ball across the goal for the winger to polish off.

Later Stages and Decisive Substitutions

From the beginning, the Portuguese team could not be accused of defending deeply and seeking a point, but now their side attacked with total abandon. Lukebakio repeatedly displayed an skill to destabilize Howe's back four, and the home team were likely grateful to reset at the break.

The opening period concluded with the keeper once more saving his team by tipping the attacker's left-foot wide of the goal frame, and as the teams emerged for the second half, everything seemed finely poised.

If Anthony Gordon, evidently buoyed by scoring his fourth goal in three European appearances this season, played with the determination of a wide player set to alter the balance in Newcastle's favor, Lukebakio had different plans.

The manager's winger had already shown that, while Burn is a fine central defender, he is not a natural left-back, and home hearts were nervous every time he advanced.

The Newcastle manager might have relaxed had Miley, deputising for Sandro Tonali, not headed a corner above the crossbar from a well-placed spot. Rather, this absorbing contest continued to swing from one goal to the other, persuading the manager to bring on the midfielder and Harvey Barnes in place of Jacob Ramsey and Murphy.

The Benfica boss, at the same time, brought on an additional forward in Franjo Ivanovic. It would arguably prove a risk that backfired.

Harvey Barnes Seals the Game

Until then, Benfica, and in particular their Portuguese back Antonio Silva, had done a fine job in restricting Woltemade's room and pushing Newcastle's Germany centre-forward back. However, with right-back Dedic off, the defense was weakened, and the way was open for Barnes to show that Anthony Gordon is not Howe's only attacking wide player.

The home side's two changes was already paying off by the time Pope sent a wonderful throw in Barnes's path. When Antonio Silva, on this occasion, misread the bounce, the winger was away, sprinting into the penalty box before maintaining impressive poise to fire a sublime shot past Trubin.

After Harvey Barnes slid a low effort through unfortunate the goalkeeper's feet after receiving Gordon's stellar through ball, it was all over. The Benfica manager had warned that Newcastle have several very fast wide attackers, and a trio of strikes from a pair of wide men had shattered his hopes of earning Benfica's first European points of the campaign.