Jose Mourinho, Head Coach of Benfica, reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between Newcastle United FC and SL Benfica at St James' Park on October 21, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)placeholder image
Jose Mourinho, Head Coach of Benfica, reacts during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD3 match between Newcastle United FC and SL Benfica at St James' Park on October 21, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Newcastle United 3-0 Benfica: Jose Mourinho showed his class following the full-time whistle in the Champions League at St James’ Park.
Gordon opened the scoring before assisting the second of Harvey Barnes’ two goals as Newcastle secured a comfortable 3-0 win.
It saw Newcastle secure back-to-back wins in the competition for the first time since the 2002/03 season. Newcastle have bounced back from the opening matchday defeat to Barcelona with two comprehensive wins over Union Saint-Gilloise and Benfica.
Gordon and Barnes scored in both games and took their goal tallies in the competition to four and three goals respectively. Gordon is now only two goals shy of Alan Shearer (six goals) as Newcastle’s all-time leading scorer in the competition, while Barnes is joint third with Shola Ameobi and Tino Asprilla.
‘We could not compete’ - Mourinho
It’s now three defeats from three Champions League matches for Benfica having lost to Qarabag and Chelsea in their opening two games in the competition this season.
Despite a tight first half, Mourinho admitted his side ‘could not compete’ with Newcastle.
“We had great chances to score, I think three or four before they scored,” he claimed. “I think that in the first half, the result doesn't reflect at all what happened in the first half. In the second half, we suffered a goal that we can't suffer.
“When we suffer that goal, it is when the differences between one team and the other come to the fore. There is a team that has a much larger engine than the other, a team that has much more intensity, a team that has much more speed.
“This tells me about the level of Newcastle. We could not compete with their horsepower. We lost being compact and were exposed.
“It’s just a case of levels. Their second goal was a killer, psychologically. The man of the match was Anthony Gordon. Their wingers have pace and power – and they have four of them.”
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Jose Mourinho’s classy gesture at full-time that the cameras missed
Despite his obvious disappointment at the full-time whistle, Mourinho was among the first to head over to the Newcastle bench to congratulate Anthony Gordon for his performance, which saw him awarded UEFA’s Champions League Player of the Match.
Mourinho embraced Gordon before a brief interaction with Sandro Tonali, who was an unused substitute on the night.
It was a classy gesture from the manager, who spoke very highly of Newcastle upon his visit to Tyneside in the Champions League.
Eddie Howe praises Anthony Gordon
Gordon has been in fine form in the Champions League so far this season with four goals and an assist in three games but is still yet to get off the mark in the Premier League.
After asking for more from his wide players following the 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe certainly got a response on Tuesday night.
“Anthony was outstanding,” Howe said. “He looked a real threat all game. He was dynamic, very aggressive, positive.
“Jacob’s always been an assist-threat, he was absolutely that. Some of the deliveries he put in were very good.
“Really pleased for Harvey to come on and get the two that he did – off the right-hand side, so I think it shows his versatility. It will do those three players in particular a world of good.”
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