A terrific team display and timely win for Newcastle United as we bounced back from the Brighton defeat to batter Benfica.
It was a reminder of how good this Eddie Howe side can be, as we swept aside Jose Mourinho’s men with ease, sending us up to six points after three Champions League games and into Saturday’s clash with Fulham on a high.
It was a night full of strong displays, some lovely team play and moments of individual quality, with Gordon electric, Bruno running the show, Murphy the creator, Barnes impactful off the bench and Pope playing a key role with some big first half saves before his brilliant second half assist!
Some of Woltemade’s link play was a joy to watch once again and the two centre-backs were imperious, with Thiaw and Botman totally dominant and equally assured in their passing from the back.
Miley did us proud in the middle of the park, stepping into Tonali’s big shoes with a mature display in the middle of our midfield three. Ramsey didn’t quite sparkle in attack, but he put in a diligent defensive display in that left-sided role after replacing Joelinton.
Football is a funny game. Where we were left to regret Barnes’ back post miss at the Leazes End against Barcelona last month from Elanga’s brilliant cross, we found the net this time as Murphy assisted Gordon from a similar position. Then you look at Pope, who got pelters for an ambitious throw out that backfired against Arsenal, yet tonight he was the hero as that same attempt set up Barnes to all but seal the win.
A 3-0 goal didn’t flatter us, either. Yes, Pope made two vital first half stops to deny the dangerous Lukebakio, who also clipped the post, but we saw Murphy flash just wide, Botman come close with two headers, Bruno’s close range effort blocked early on, Miley’s missed header and a flurry of late chances that saw Willock fire over, Joelinton almost curl one home and Burn go close to a spectacular late strike.
Alongside a confidence-boosting win for the team, it was a night where Howe’s changes worked a treat, with the midfield rotation and Murphy’s return paying dividends as our squad depth came on strong, allowing Joelinton, Barnes, Elanga and Osula all to come on from a strong-looking bench.
The challenge now is producing that in the Premier League consistently, especially our chance creation and the output from our wingers, who scored three goals between them tonight after blanking across all eight of our league games.
A measured display from start to finish, a brilliant win and a big boost to our Champions League hopes that we must build on heading into Fulham on Saturday. Howay the lads!
Newcastle XI: Pope – Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn – Miley, Bruno, Ramsey – Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon
Subs: Thompson, Ramsdale, Schar, Joelinton, Tonali, Barnes, Krafth, Osula, Elanga, Willock, A.Murphy
Benfica XI: Trubin – Dedic, Silva, Otamendi, Araujo – Aursnes, Rios, Barrenechea, Lukebakio – Sudakov – Pavlidis.
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