Jose Mourinho names his Newcastle United Motm

Newcastle United saw off Benfica on Tuesday night as Anthony Gordon kept up his strong European form.

Eddie Howe tasted defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion over the weekend and looked for a response in the Champions League.

Jose Mourinho’s Benfica rolled into town and Newcastle produced a fine performance in a 3-0 win.

Anthony Gordon tapped home the opener before Harvey Barnes came off the bench to score twice after the break.

Newcastle now have two wins from three Champions League games this season and are in a strong position in the league phase.

Newcastle attackers have been questioned amid Nick Woltemade’s brilliant form.

Howe’s wingers have struggled for Premier League goals, but Tuesday’s display showed the kind of threat they can pose.

Gordon has been in fine form in Europe this season, and his opener against Benfica means he has now scored four times in three Champions League outings.

UEFA named Gordon as their Man of the Match, and Benfica boss Mourinho has now followed suit.

As quoted by The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, Mourinho suggested that Gordon was the best player on the pitch.

Mourinho highlighted that Newcastle have four wingers with ‘pace and power’, but Gordon was the top threat ahead of Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga.

“This tells me about the level of Newcastle. We could not compete with their horsepower. We lost being compact and were exposed,” said Mourinho.

“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,” he added.

🇵🇹 Jose Mourinho: “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… pic.twitter.com/CuaQTT6Gd6— Craig Hope (@CraigHope_DM) October 21, 2025

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Eddie Howe praises Anthony Gordon

Mourinho was clearly impressed with Gordon, and Newcastle boss Eddie Howe felt similarly.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Howe heaped praise on Gordon’s display against the Benfica back line.

“Anthony was outstanding tonight, he looked a real threat all game,” said Howe. “He was dynamic and very aggressive, positive,” he added.

Gordon must now take this European form into Premier League action, as he is still waiting for his first league goal this season.

If Gordon can continue to attack the back post as he did against Benfica, that first league goal won’t be far away.