Newcastle v Benfica live: Score and updates from fascinating Champions League clash – UK Times

Barrenechea is now okay to carry on.

At the other end, Gordon gets his first run at Dedic and beats him easily, winning a free-kick in a dangerous area.

Nothing comes of the set-piece though, but it already looks like Newcastle will get some joy down that left flank.

Stop-start at St James’ so far, with neither side able to gain control. Barrenechea is now down receiving treatment after a late challenge from Trippier.

We’re underway at St James’ Park!

Both sides are in the tunnel at St James’ Park, so we’ll be underway soon once we’ve had the anthems and usual pageantry.

Only Sturm Graz (16) have played more European Cup/Champions League home games without ever drawing than Newcastle (13, with six wins and seven losses). The Magpies have lost each of the last three on home soil though, which is their longest losing run in the Champions League.

Elsewhere, Nick Woltemade could become the first Newcastle player to find the net in each of their first two starts for the club in the competition.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Eddie Howe reflected on his own squad as well as the threat posed by Benfica.

“Whenever you bring players in and lose players, in a sense it brings the word transition, but hopefully we’ve got the balance right. [By] not losing our identity and how we play. I don’t think we have because you can see what we’re trying to do,” he explained on his new-look squad.

“The effort’s there, commitment is there but sometimes we haven’t played with enough quality. As long as we see heart, endeavour and attitude, we’ll get consistent results again. There is a sense of finding a new way of doing things.”

Regarding this match, he said: “We love these games. The atmosphere will be electric and I hope their performance mirrors that energy. If we’re at our very best, we have a good chance and we know the importance of home games.

“It will be a competitive game between two great clubs. [Mourinho] has a way of inspiring his team to get results.

“We know what to expect and it will be up to us to influence our players and deliver the game plan that we want. They have an attacking threat and tactically, it will be an interesting game,” he added.

Benfica are on a four-game losing streak in the UEFA Champions League, and have only once previously lost five consecutive matches in the competition: an eight-game run between March 2017 and September 2018.

José Mourinho has only won three of his 12 away games at St. James’ Park against Newcastle (D4 L5), and just one of the most recent seven (D3 L3). This will be his first game there as a manager since a 2-2 draw in April 2021, against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle while in charge of Tottenham.

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho is expecting big things from Newcastle after suggesting last season’s Carabao Cup triumph was only the start.

The 62-year-old Portuguese retains huge affection for the Magpies, who host his side in the Champions League on Tuesday, because of his time working with the late Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona.

Asked how pleased the former Newcastle boss would have been with March’s League Cup final win over Liverpool, which ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy, an emotional Mourinho said: “Sir Bobby is a legend here and in England if you’re a legend, there are many reasons to be a legend.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will go head-to-head with a manager he believes should be considered one of the game’s greats as he prepares to lock horns with Jose Mourinho.

The 62-year-old Portuguese takes his Benfica side to St James’ Park, where his mentor Sir Bobby Robson remains such a favourite, in the Champions League on Tuesday ready to resume hostilities with Howe.

Mourinho’s 26-trophy haul as a boss includes three Premier League titles, four League Cups, an FA Cup and the Europa League during his spells with Chelsea and Manchester United, and Howe has no doubts over the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid supremo’s standing in the English game.