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As Jose Mourinho arrived at St James' Park and praised Newcastle's coach and his squad, home fans were concerned about a tough match. However such fears vanished due to a strike from Anthony Gordon and two more from replacement the forward, ensuring Benfica's new manager would not cause any trouble for Howe's team.

Game Dynamics and Early Action

Mourinho had forecast that the home side would be very physical, but his own team showed their own aggressive style. The visitors clearly delighted in breaking up Newcastle's initial efforts to build a fluent attacking tempo.

Adding to the home team's challenges, two midfielders, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, started as substitutes as they continued recovering from sickness and injury respectively.

Before kick-off, the two managers shared a brief, cool greeting, and it quickly became apparent that the Benfica coach had instructed his team to subdue the home fans by delaying Newcastle and lowering the intensity at every chance.

Critical Events and Decisive Actions

Benfica's tactic yielded mixed results, but when Gordon and his teammates succeeded to dismantle the defensive barricades, they initially found it hard to create clear chances.

Moreover, the Belgian attacker Lukebakio almost demonstrated scoring skill when, after beating the defender behind, he forced Nick Pope with a tremendous shot that required an excellent one-handed stop. It's no surprise Pope retains hope for an national team return in time for the World Cup.

Yet when the winger directed another shot against the post, the home side roused themselves. Jacob Murphy shot off target, and Anatoliy Trubin made an impressive near-post stop from Bruno Guimaraes before Gordon finally opened the scoreless tie.

Gordon's blazing speed had created problems for the Benfica coach all night, and he neatly slotted the first goal past Trubin after his teammate's quick ball into the box proved effective.

On the occasion Newcastle's intense, high press was not second-guessed by the opposition, Murphy, chosen over the expensive signing, was available to pass a ground cross across the face of goal for Gordon to finish.

Second Half and Match-Winning Substitutions

Right from the start, Benfica could not be blamed of parking the bus and playing for a draw, but now Mourinho's players attacked with real abandon. The winger repeatedly displayed an skill to unsettle Newcastle's back four, and the Magpies were probably grateful to regroup at the break.

The opening period concluded with the keeper again rescuing his team by diverting the attacker's shot around the post, and as the teams came out for the next period, everything seemed evenly balanced.

While Anthony Gordon, clearly buoyed by scoring his fourth strike in three European games this season, played with the determination of a winger aiming to shift the balance in Newcastle's direction, 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 in mouths every time Lukebakio moved forward.

Howe might have relaxed had Miley, deputising for Sandro Tonali, not headed a corner above the bar from a good spot. Rather, this thrilling game continued to move from one goal to the other, prompting Newcastle's coach to introduce the midfielder and Barnes in place of Jacob Ramsey and Murphy.

Mourinho, meanwhile, brought on an extra striker in Franjo Ivanovic. This would arguably prove a gamble too far.

Barnes Seals the Game

Before that, Benfica, and in particular their Portuguese defender Antonio Silva, had performed a good job in restricting Nick Woltemade's space and pushing Newcastle's Germany striker back. However, with defender Amar Dedic off, the defense was weakened, and the path was open for Barnes to show that Gordon is not the manager's only attacking winger.

Newcastle's two changes was already proving effective by the time Pope sent a superb long throw in Barnes's direction. When Silva, on this occasion, misjudged the bounce, Barnes was away, sprinting into the area before maintaining impressive composure to lash a sublime strike past Trubin.

When Barnes rolled a shot through unfortunate Trubin's feet after meeting Anthony Gordon's stellar through ball, it was finished. The Benfica manager had warned that the Magpies have several quick wingers, and three goals from a pair of wide men had destroyed his hopes of earning the team's first European result of the campaign.