**Jose Mourinho had been extremely complimentary of Newcastle United in the build-up to Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Benfica.**
Indeed, the 'Special One' has always sung the praises of Newcastle as he feels a deep connection to the club due to his years of working under Sir Bobby Robson.
He's rarely been able to channel that deep love and understanding into wins at St James' Park, and last night was no exception.
Mourinho's Benfica were dismantled in front of the Toon Army last night as the Magpies ran away 3-0 winners.
> [](https://twitter.com/beINSPORTS_EN/status/1980745921756557564)
Jose Mourinho is jealous of Newcastle's squad depth
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Jose Mourinho was expecting a difficult game, but we don't think he was quite prepared for what unfolded last night, and speaking after the game, he told beIN Sports that Newcastle have a 'luxury' that he simply doesn't.
> “Every set-piece is very difficult to control but we did. In the second half, it was different with the second goal.
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> “And with the changes Eddie made. Bringing fresh people, Barnes on the bench is a luxury – a total luxury. Then they kill us in transition, speed, intensity, we couldn’t cope.”
Having squad depth is a new thing for Eddie Howe at Newcastle
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It's not a luxury Eddie Howe is entirely used to having to be fair, as for the first three years of his tenure as Newcastle boss, he's been lucky to have more than one good option from the bench thanks to a paper-thin squad and plenty of injury troubles.
Luckily, he was backed well in the summer, and now Newcastle are starting to put together a squad strong enough to compete on all four fronts.
We wouldn't say we're there yet. The injuries to Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall have proved that, but the fact that we're still coping without them is a testament to how far we've come.