The Magpies made it two wins from three Champions League games as they outplayed Jose Mourinho’s Benfica side at St James’ Park.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring as he converted Jacob Murphy’s low cross in the first half, before substitute Harvey Barnes scored twice after the break to complete Newcastle’s win.
While Howe’s side have been excellent in Europe this season – they even played well in the game they lost against Barcelona – their domestic form has been much patchier, with an improvement needed when they host Fulham at the weekend.
“I think it is that kind of game that sets a standard,” said Howe. “That we have to take forward to our next few games that we’ve got coming up. That’s the level that we have to be at.
“I thought we’ve been threatening putting a performance like that together. Even at Brighton, there were some really positive moments, but that gets lost in the result.
“Today, we got both. We got another clean sheet and we scored some goals. Confidence returned to our attacking players, so it’s a great night for us.”
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Newcastle have scored eight goals in their three Champions League games, with Anthony Gordon’s four goals making him the joint second top scorer in this season’s competition behind Kylian Mbappe. Barnes has now claimed three goals in three European games.
Things have been very different in the Premier League, where Gordon and Barnes are yet to open their accounts for the season and Newcastle have only scored seven goals in their opening eight league games, a disparity Howe admits he is struggling to explain.
“It’s a head scratcher,” admitted the Magpies boss. “We know their [Gordon and Barnes] qualities, we know they’re goalscorers. We know how good a player they are, and that goes for another good few players in our squad as well.
“Everyone’s pointing to the fact that we haven’t been scoring enough in the Premier League, but when you see us play like this, how we attacked and the number of chances we created, it’s a difficult one for us to work out.
“All we can do is return to the Premier League with the same attitude. If the attitude is there, the quality will show.”