Harvey Barnes Scores Two Goals as Newcastle Defeat Portuguese Side and Jose Mourinho
As Jose Mourinho arrived at Newcastle's stadium and complimented Eddie Howe and his players, local supporters were concerned about a difficult game. However those fears disappeared thanks to a goal from Anthony Gordon and two more from replacement the forward, ensuring the visitors' coach did not inflict pain for Newcastle.
Match Flow and Initial Exchanges
The Benfica boss had predicted that Newcastle would be extremely aggressive, but his Benfica players displayed their similar combative approach. The visitors certainly enjoyed disrupting Newcastle's early attempts to establish a fluent passing tempo.
Compounding the home team's issues, key players, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, began as substitutes as they were recovering from illness and injury respectively.
Prior to the start, the coaches exchanged a perfunctory, cool greeting, and it quickly became clear that the Benfica coach had instructed his side to quiet the home fans by delaying Newcastle and reducing the temperature at every chance.
Critical Moments and Decisive Actions
The visitors' tactic produced varied outcomes, but when Anthony Gordon and his teammates managed to dismantle the defensive barricades, they initially struggled to create good opportunities.
Moreover, the Belgian winger Dodi Lukebakio almost showed scoring skill when, after leaving the defender on the ground, he tested Nick Pope with a tremendous strike that got an terrific one-handed save. No wonder Pope retains hope for an national team return in time for the global tournament.
Yet when the winger directed a further attempt against the post, Newcastle woke up. Jacob Murphy fired wide, and Anatoliy Trubin made an excellent close-range save from Bruno Guimaraes before Anthony Gordon finally opened the deadlock.
The England winger's scorching speed had caused consternation for Mourinho all night, and he calmly side-footed the opener past the goalkeeper after Murphy's quick ball into the area paid off.
When the Magpies' hard, pressing game was not second-guessed by Benfica, Murphy, chosen over the expensive signing, was there to pass a ground cross across the face of goal for Gordon to finish.
Second Half and Decisive Substitutions
From the beginning, Benfica could not be accused of defending deeply and seeking a point, but now their players attacked with real abandon. The winger repeatedly showed an ability to destabilize Newcastle's defense, and the home team were likely relieved to reset at half-time.
The opening period concluded with Pope once more rescuing his side by diverting the attacker's left-foot around the goal frame, and as the sides came out for the second half, everything seemed evenly poised.
While Gordon, clearly buoyed by scoring his fourth strike in three European games this campaign, played with the determination of a wide player aiming to shift the balance in Newcastle's favor, Lukebakio had different plans.
The manager's No 11 had already shown that, while Burn is a fine central defender, he is not a natural full-back, and home hearts were nervous every time he advanced.
The Newcastle manager might have relaxed had Miley, filling in for Tonali, not directed a set-piece above the bar from a good position. Instead, this thrilling game continued to swing from one goal to the other, persuading the coach to introduce the midfielder and Barnes in place of Jacob Ramsey and Jacob Murphy.
The Benfica boss, at the same time, brought on an extra striker in Franjo Ivanovic. It would arguably prove a gamble that backfired.
Harvey Barnes Seals the Game
Until then, Benfica, and especially their Portugal defender Antonio Silva, had performed a good job in limiting Woltemade's space and forcing Newcastle's Germany centre-forward back. But now, with defender Dedic off, the backline was underpowered, and the path was clear for Barnes to show that Gordon is not the manager's only goal-scoring winger.
The home side's two changes was already paying off by the time Pope sent a superb throw in the substitute's path. When Silva, for once, misread the flight, Barnes was away, sprinting into the penalty box before keeping impressive poise to lash a sublime shot past Trubin.
When Barnes slid a shot through unfortunate the goalkeeper's legs after receiving Gordon's excellent pass, it was all over. Mourinho had warned that the Magpies have several quick wingers, and three goals from a pair of wingers had shattered his hopes of securing the team's first Champions League result of the campaign.
