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When Jose Mourinho came at Newcastle's stadium and praised Eddie Howe and his players, local supporters feared a difficult match. However such fears disappeared due to a strike from the winger and a brace from substitute the forward, ensuring Benfica's new manager would not cause pain for Howe's team.

Game Flow and Early Action

The Benfica boss had forecast that the home side would be extremely aggressive, but his own team displayed their own combative approach. Benfica clearly delighted in disrupting the Magpies' initial efforts to establish a fluent attacking rhythm.

Adding to the home team's issues, key midfielders, Tonali and the Brazilian, began on the bench as they continued recovering from illness and injury respectively.

Before the start, the coaches 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 intensity at every chance.

Critical Moments and Decisive Actions

The visitors' strategy yielded varied results, but when Gordon and his teammates succeeded to dismantle the backline, they at first struggled to create clear opportunities.

Additionally, Benfica's Belgian winger Lukebakio almost showed how to finish when, after leaving the defender behind, he tested Newcastle's keeper with a powerful strike that got an excellent one-handed stop. No wonder the goalkeeper retains hope for an national team recall in time for the global tournament.

But when Lukebakio directed another attempt off the post, the home side woke up. Murphy shot wide, and Benfica's keeper made an excellent close-range save from Guimaraes before Gordon finally broke the scoreless tie.

Gordon's blazing pace had created problems for Mourinho all evening, and he neatly slotted the opener past Trubin after his teammate's quick ball into the area proved effective.

On the occasion Newcastle's hard, pressing game was not second-guessed by Benfica, Jacob Murphy, preferred over the expensive signing, was there to pass a low cross across the face of goal for Gordon to finish.

Later Stages and Match-Winning Substitutions

Right from the start, the Portuguese team could not be accused of parking the bus and playing for a draw, but now Mourinho's players pushed forward with total freedom. Lukebakio consistently showed an skill to destabilize Newcastle's back four, and the home team were probably relieved to reset at half-time.

The first half concluded with the keeper again rescuing his team by tipping Lukebakio's left-foot wide of the post, and as the sides emerged for the second half, everything seemed evenly balanced.

While Gordon, evidently boosted by scoring his fourth goal in three European appearances this season, played with the zeal of a winger set to alter the balance in Newcastle's favor, the Benfica attacker had different plans.

The manager's No 11 had already shown that, while Burn is a fine centre-back, he is not a born full-back, and Newcastle fans were nervous every time Lukebakio advanced.

The Newcastle manager might have felt easier had Lewis Miley, deputising for Sandro Tonali, not headed a corner over the crossbar from a well-placed position. Rather, this absorbing contest continued to move from end to end, prompting Newcastle's manager to introduce Joelinton and Barnes in place of Ramsey and Murphy.

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

Harvey Barnes Wins the Game

Before that, the away team, and in particular their Portuguese back Silva, had performed a good job in limiting Nick Woltemade's room and forcing the German striker deep. But now, with right-back Dedic off, the backline was underpowered, and the way was open for Harvey Barnes to prove that Anthony Gordon is not Howe's only attacking winger.

Newcastle's two changes was already proving effective by the time the goalkeeper sent a wonderful long throw in Barnes's direction. When Silva, on this occasion, misjudged the flight, Barnes was clear, sprinting into the penalty box before maintaining impressive poise to fire a sublime strike past the keeper.

When Harvey Barnes slid a low effort through poor the goalkeeper's feet after meeting Anthony Gordon's stellar pass, it was all over. Mourinho had cautioned that the Magpies have several very fast wide attackers, and a trio of strikes from two wingers had destroyed his chances of securing Benfica's first Champions League points of the campaign.