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When Jose Mourinho came at St James' Park and complimented Eddie Howe and his squad, home supporters feared a difficult game. But such fears disappeared thanks to a goal from Anthony Gordon and two more from replacement the forward, making sure the visitors' coach would not cause pain for Howe's team.

Game Dynamics and Initial Action

The Benfica boss had predicted that Newcastle would be very physical, but his Benfica players showed their own combative style. The visitors certainly delighted in disrupting the Magpies' initial attempts to build a fluent attacking tempo.

Adding to the home team's challenges, key midfielders, Sandro Tonali and the Brazilian, began on the bench as they were recovering from illness and a knock respectively.

Prior to kick-off, the coaches exchanged a brief, reserved greeting, and it quickly became clear that Mourinho had told his side to quiet the crowd by delaying Newcastle and reducing the intensity whenever possible.

Critical Moments and Turning Points

The visitors' tactic yielded varied results, but when Gordon and his teammates managed to dismantle Benfica's defensive barricades, they initially found it hard to generate good chances.

Additionally, Benfica's Belgium attacker Lukebakio almost showed scoring skill when, after beating the defender behind, he forced Newcastle's keeper with a tremendous shot that got an excellent single-hand save. It's no surprise the goalkeeper still hopes for an England return in time for the World Cup.

Yet when the winger directed another shot against the post, Newcastle roused themselves. Murphy shot off target, and Benfica's keeper made an excellent near-post save from Guimaraes before Anthony Gordon at last opened the scoreless tie.

The England winger's scorching speed had caused consternation for the Benfica coach all evening, and he neatly slotted the opener past Trubin after Murphy's quick cross into the box paid off.

On the occasion the Magpies' intense, pressing game was not anticipated by the opposition, Murphy, chosen over £55m Anthony Elanga, was available to pass a low cross across the face of goal for Gordon to polish off.

Second Half and Match-Winning Changes

From the beginning, the Portuguese team could not be blamed of defending deeply and seeking a point, but now Mourinho's side attacked with total freedom. The winger consistently displayed an ability to destabilize Howe's back four, and the home team were probably grateful to regroup at half-time.

The opening period concluded with the keeper again rescuing his side by tipping Lukebakio's shot wide of the post, and as the teams came out for the second half, the match seemed evenly balanced.

While Anthony Gordon, evidently boosted by netting his fourth goal in three European games this season, played with the determination of a wide player aiming to shift the balance in Newcastle's direction, the Benfica attacker had other ideas.

Mourinho's No 11 had already shown that, while Dan Burn is a fine central defender, he is not a natural full-back, and Newcastle fans were in mouths every time he moved forward.

Howe might have relaxed had Miley, filling in for Sandro Tonali, not headed a set-piece above the bar from a well-placed position. Instead, this absorbing contest continued to move from end to end, prompting Newcastle's coach to bring on Joelinton and Barnes in place of Jacob Ramsey and Murphy.

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

Barnes Seals the Match

Before that, the away team, and in particular their Portugal defender Silva, had performed a fine job in limiting Nick Woltemade's space and pushing the German centre-forward deep. But now, with defender Dedic off, the defense was underpowered, and the path was clear for Harvey Barnes to show that Gordon is not the manager's only goal-scoring wide player.

The home side's two changes was already proving effective by the time Pope dispatched a superb throw in Barnes's path. When Silva, for once, misread the flight, the winger was away, sprinting into the penalty box before keeping commendable composure to fire a superb shot past Trubin.

When Barnes rolled a shot through unfortunate the goalkeeper's feet after receiving Gordon's stellar pass, it was finished. Mourinho had warned that the Magpies have several quick wingers, and a trio of strikes from a pair of wingers had destroyed his hopes of securing Benfica's first European result of the season.