Harvey Barnes Scores Twice as Newcastle Defeat Portuguese Side and Mourinho
When the Benfica manager came at Newcastle's stadium and praised Eddie Howe and his squad, local fans feared a difficult match. However those fears vanished due to a strike from the winger and a brace from substitute the forward, making sure the visitors' new manager would not cause pain for Newcastle.
Match Dynamics and Early Action
The Benfica boss had forecast that Newcastle would be extremely aggressive, but his Benfica players displayed their own combative style. The visitors certainly enjoyed breaking up the Magpies' initial attempts to establish a fluent passing tempo.
Compounding the home team's challenges, two players, Tonali and Joelinton, began on the bench as they continued recovering from sickness and a knock each.
Prior to kick-off, the two managers exchanged a brief, cool greeting, and it soon became clear that Mourinho had instructed his side to quiet the home fans by slowing Newcastle and reducing the temperature at every chance.
Key Moments and Decisive Actions
The visitors' strategy yielded varied outcomes, but when Anthony Gordon and the Newcastle attack succeeded to break through the defensive barricades, they at first struggled to generate clear chances.
Additionally, Benfica's Belgium attacker Lukebakio almost showed scoring skill when, after beating the defender on the ground, he forced Nick Pope with a tremendous shot that got an terrific single-hand stop. No wonder the goalkeeper still hopes for an national team return in time for the global tournament.
Yet when Lukebakio directed a further attempt against the post, Newcastle roused themselves. Murphy shot off target, and Anatoliy Trubin made an impressive near-post save from Bruno Guimaraes before Anthony Gordon at last opened the deadlock.
The England winger's scorching pace had caused problems for Mourinho all evening, and he calmly side-footed the opener past Trubin after his teammate's quick cross into the box proved effective.
When the Magpies' hard, high press was not anticipated by the opposition, Jacob Murphy, chosen over £55m Anthony Elanga, was there to pass a ground cross across the goal for the winger to finish.
Second Half and Decisive Changes
From the beginning, Benfica could not be blamed of parking the bus and seeking a point, but now Mourinho's side pushed forward with total freedom. The winger consistently displayed an skill to unsettle Newcastle's defense, and the Magpies were probably grateful to reset at half-time.
The opening period concluded with Pope once more saving his team by tipping Lukebakio's shot around the post, and as the sides emerged for the next period, everything seemed evenly balanced.
If Gordon, evidently boosted by netting his fourth strike in three Champions League games this season, played with the zeal of a winger aiming to shift the power balance in his team's favor, Lukebakio had other plans.
Mourinho's No 11 had already shown that, while Burn is a fine central defender, he is not a born left-back, and home fans were nervous every time he advanced.
Howe might have relaxed had Lewis Miley, filling in for Tonali, not headed a set-piece over the crossbar from a well-placed position. Instead, this thrilling contest continued to move from one goal to the other, prompting Newcastle's manager to introduce Joelinton and Harvey Barnes in place of Jacob Ramsey and Murphy.
Mourinho, at the same time, threw on an extra forward in Franjo Ivanovic. This would perhaps prove a risk that backfired.
Harvey Barnes Wins the Game
Before that, the away team, and in particular their Portugal defender Antonio Silva, had performed a fine job in limiting Nick Woltemade's space and pushing Newcastle's German centre-forward deep. However, with right-back Amar Dedic off, the defense was weakened, and the way was open for Barnes to show that Anthony Gordon is not the manager's only goal-scoring winger.
Newcastle's double substitution was already paying off by the time the goalkeeper dispatched a wonderful long throw in Barnes's direction. When Antonio Silva, for once, misread the flight, Barnes was clear, sprinting into the area before keeping commendable composure to fire a sublime shot past Trubin.
After Harvey Barnes slid a low effort through poor Trubin's feet after meeting Anthony Gordon's stellar pass, it was finished. Mourinho had warned that Newcastle have four very fast wingers, and a trio of strikes from two wingers had shattered his chances of securing the team's first European result of the campaign.
