Barnes Fires Two Goals as The Magpies Defeat Portuguese Side and Jose Mourinho
When Jose Mourinho came at Newcastle's stadium and praised Newcastle's coach and his squad, home supporters were concerned about a tough game. But those fears vanished due to a strike from the winger and a brace from substitute Harvey Barnes, ensuring the visitors' new manager would not cause any trouble for Howe's team.
Match Flow and Early Exchanges
The Benfica boss had forecast that Newcastle would be extremely aggressive, but his own team displayed their own combative approach. Benfica clearly delighted in breaking up the Magpies' initial efforts to establish a fluent attacking rhythm.
Compounding the home team's challenges, key midfielders, Sandro Tonali and the Brazilian, started on the bench as they continued recovering from illness and a knock respectively.
Before kick-off, the coaches shared a brief, cool greeting, and it soon became clear that the Benfica coach had told his team to subdue the home fans by delaying the game and reducing the temperature whenever possible.
Critical Events and Turning Points
The visitors' strategy yielded mixed results, but when Anthony Gordon and the Newcastle attack managed to dismantle Benfica's backline, they initially struggled to generate clear chances.
Additionally, the Belgium attacker Lukebakio almost showed how to finish when, after beating Dan Burn behind, he tested Nick Pope with a tremendous strike that got an terrific one-handed stop. No wonder the goalkeeper still hopes for an England return in time for the World Cup.
But when Lukebakio hit another shot against the woodwork, the home side roused themselves. Murphy fired off target, and Anatoliy Trubin made an excellent near-post save from Bruno Guimaraes before Anthony Gordon at last opened the deadlock.
Gordon's scorching pace had created problems for the Benfica coach all night, and he calmly slotted the first goal past Trubin after Murphy's early cross into the area proved effective.
When the Magpies' intense, pressing game was not second-guessed by Benfica, Murphy, chosen over the expensive signing, was there to pass a low ball across the goal for the winger to finish.
Second Half and Match-Winning Changes
Right from the start, the Portuguese team could not be blamed of defending deeply and seeking a point, but now their side attacked with total freedom. Lukebakio repeatedly displayed an ability to unsettle Howe's back four, and the Magpies were likely relieved to regroup at the break.
The first half ended with the keeper once more saving his side by diverting the attacker's shot wide of the post, and as the sides came out for the second half, everything seemed finely poised.
If Anthony Gordon, clearly boosted by netting his fourth strike in three Champions League appearances this campaign, played with the zeal of a winger set to alter the power balance in his team's direction, Lukebakio had other plans.
The manager's winger had previously shown that, while Burn is a capable central defender, he is not a born full-back, and Newcastle fans were nervous every time he advanced.
The Newcastle manager might have felt easier had Lewis Miley, deputising for Tonali, not directed a corner over the crossbar from a good position. Instead, this absorbing contest continued to swing from one goal to the other, prompting the coach to introduce the midfielder and Barnes in place of Ramsey and Murphy.
The Benfica boss, meanwhile, brought on an additional striker in Ivanovic. This would arguably prove a risk too far.
Harvey Barnes Wins the Match
Before that, the away team, and in particular their Portugal back Silva, had performed a fine job in limiting Woltemade's space and pushing the German striker back. But now, with right-back Dedic off, the defense was underpowered, and the path was clear for Barnes to show that Gordon is not the manager's only attacking winger.
The home side's double substitution was already proving effective by the time Pope dispatched a wonderful throw in Barnes's direction. When Antonio Silva, for once, misread the bounce, Barnes was clear, accelerating into the penalty box before maintaining commendable poise to lash a sublime shot past Trubin.
When Harvey Barnes slid a shot through poor Trubin's feet after receiving Anthony Gordon's stellar pass, it was all over. The Benfica manager had cautioned that Newcastle have four very fast wide attackers, and three goals from a pair of wingers had shattered his chances of securing the team's first Champions League result of the campaign.