Newcastle made it successive Champions League wins on Tuesday with what was ultimately a routine 3-0 win over Jose Mourinho's Benfica at St James' Park. Anthony Gordon scored in Europe for the fourth time this season, before Harvey Barnes came off the bench to wrap up maximum points with a brace for Eddie Howe's side. There was even a remarkable assist for Toon goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Both 'keepers made saves within the first 15 minutes. First, after a promising Newcastle attack resulted in a corner, a free header from Dan Burn was saved by Anatoliy Trubin and cleared. At the other end, Pope thwarted Dodi Lukebakio's powerful effort.
Benfica pressure continued to build, including Lukebakio striking the post, but the visitors couldn't make it count and Newcastle flexed when Trubin pulled off a big save with his foot to deny Bruno Guimaraes from close-range, just before taking the lead. The Magpies built on that moment and Gordon's breakthrough was a well worked goal that saw Guimaraes play Jacob Murphy into space and feed the ball across the box.
There were 20 minutes left when Barnes doubled the lead, the epitome of route one football from Eddie Howe's team, as Pope's launched throw set the winger free in Benfica territory. From there, Barnes drove into the box and kept his composure to finish under pressure. With Benfica running out of ideas, the same player got Newcastle's late third, with Nick Woltemade's delightful backheeled flick opening up the pitch for Gordon to slip Barnes in again.
GOAL rates Newcastle's players from St James' Park…
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Nick Pope (8/10):
Could only watch Lukebakio's first-half effort come back off the post, but had denied the same player with an important save at 0-0. His vision and execution to throw the ball into space ahead of Barnes helped put the game to bed.
Kieran Trippier (7/10):
Strong going forwards and backwards.
Malick Thiaw (7/10):
Strong defensive performance from the 24-year-old German.
Sven Botman (7/10):
After Benfica's first half pressure faded, did a good job of repelling further danger.
Dan Burn (7/10):
Continued at left-back for the fifth successive game but it didn't affect his threat at attacking set-pieces.
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Bruno Guimaraes (7/10):
Looked forward with good effect and got into the box often. Perhaps should have given his team an earlier lead, but for Trubin's intervention.
Lewis Miley (7/10):
With Tonali only making the bench after a recent bout of illness, the teenager was thrown in at the deep end as a starter and absolutely held his own.
Jacob Ramsey (6/10):
Misplaced only a single pass during his 63 minutes on the pitch, but not as involved as that stat would suggest.
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Jacob Murphy (7/10):
A clear threat down the right flank. An early opportunity to get an assist when he was played into space petered out, but was a warning sign. His low cross to Gordon to break the deadlock was inch-perfect. Tested Trubin with a free-kick later on.
Nick Woltemade (6/10):
Didn't do all that much until his excellent late link-up with Gordon directly created the third Newcastle goal. Just 21 touches in 85 minutes.
Anthony Gordon (9/10):
Newcastle's undisputed talisman in the Champions League so far this season. Yet to score in the Premier League but remarkably has four to his name in three outings in Europe. His assist for Barnes' second was pretty fine as well.
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Harvey Barnes (8/10):
Exactly the impact off the bench his manager would have wanted. Two goals that killed off Benfica, with similar, and very calm, finishes each time.
Joelinton (7/10):
Didn't see all that much of the ball at his feet but commanding in duels, particularly at winning headers.
Anthony Elanga (N/A):
Late replacement for Gordon.
William Osula (N/A):
Late replacement for Woltemade.
Joe Willock (N/A):
Even later replacement for Guimaraes.
Eddie Howe (9/10):
Went toe-to-toe with his self-proclaimed idol and won. Took no risks with Tonali and his faith in Miley was rewarded. Also a smart move to hand Murphy a first start in almost four weeks, superceded by Barnes then doing what he did.
