Newcastle United earned a comfortable win over Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday as Eddie Howe's team eye a place in the knockout stages
Newcastle United's starting XI vs Benfica
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Newcastle United recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Benfica at St James' Park on Tuesday night.
Winger Anthony Gordon became the first Magpies player to score in three consecutive Champions League games with his first-half goal putting Eddie Howe's side 1-0 up after around half an hour. A second-half brace from Harvey Barnes then wrapped up all three points against Jose Mourinho's team.
Newcastle were thoroughly deserved winners against their Portuguese opponents, who registered just two shots on target compared to 10 by the home side. Howe's team are next in action at home to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday as they look to climb the table domestically.
The club's next European fixture is at home to Athletic Club on November 5. Below is a look at where Newcastle's Champions League adventure currently stands after three games played...
Where do the Magpies now stand?
Newcastle currently sits seventh in the league phase table ahead of Wednesday's fixtures. Howe's men have won two and lost one in Europe so far this season and are ahead of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and Chelsea.
Teams that finish in the top eight automatically qualify for the last 16, while those placing ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off for the chance to join them. Sides that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated—and will not drop into the Europa League.
How many points are needed to qualify?
Last season, all of the top eight teams finished with 16 or more points in total - effectively two points or more per game.
With the exception of Dinamo Zagreb, whose -7 goal difference proved to be their downfall, all teams with between 11 and 15 points finished between ninth and 24th, enough for a knockout play-off round place.
Newcastle currently have six points and a +6 goal difference, with five games remaining.
What are Newcastle's remaining fixtures?
Wednesday, November 5 - Athletic Club (H)
Tuesday, November 25 - Marseille (A)
Wednesday, December 10 - Bayer Leverkusen (A)
Wednesday, January 21 - PSV Eindhoven (H)
Wednesday, January 28 - Paris Saint-Germain (A)
Anthony Gordon (C) of Newcastle United celebrates scoring his team's first goal against Benfica with teammates Nick Woltemade (L) and Jacob Ramsey
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What Eddie Howe said
Howe delivered a glowing assessment of his side after Tuesday's game against the Portuguese giants.
"I'm really pleased because Benfica are a very good team, so we had to show our qualities today," he told TNT Sports post-match. "I thought we were really patient initially because we had chances and didn't score early.
"We kept at it. I think once we scored the second goal you saw the real us and what we can be. I thought we were excellent from that point onwards.
On whether this is his strongest squad, he added: "We have strength but it's sort of on paper. You've got to go and prove it. The previous squads we've had here, last season we had a great season and won a trophy, we've got to go to work, I say, and prove the strength of the squad warrants the feeling I have.
"I do believe we've got really good players. We haven't quite clicked into gear yet this season, hopefully that's the start of what we can be."
Jose Mourinho's reaction
Mourinho believed that the first-half scoreline was not a fair reflection, but ultimately acknowledged Newcastle's superiority across the 90 minutes.
"It was a good performance in the first half," he told TNT Sports. "Totally undeserved result after the first half.
"It's not easy to come here and play the way we did in the first half. Creating four big chances, hitting the post a,nd being the team that, in my opinion, was close to winning. Then in the second half with the second goal it was completely turned around.
"Then the result is more than fair. I don't think it's a mentality thing, I think it's just the difference in quality between the two teams. They are more physical, more intense, faster. They have a bench with phenomenal players to change the dynamic and then when the game breaks because in the first half, even the second half until the second goal, we were very compact.
"The moment you are losing 2-0, the players want to try to change the result and the game opens up with more space. They have different engines than we have, even the profiles of the leagues. The Premier League demands a greater evolution of these teams at this level. In the second half we suffered."
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