Newcastles

Howe was certainly not getting carried away.

But the Newcastle head coach will have taken immense encouragement from the contribution of his forwards.

Newcastle have relied on record signing Nick Woltemade, who scored his side’s first goal against Wolves, Arsenal, Union Saint-Gilloise and Brighton in recent weeks, and whose link-up play was again eye-catching on Tuesday night.

But when this game was on a knife-edge, and St James’ Park was tense, Newcastle needed someone else to step up and ease the goalscoring burden.

And Gordon did so when he side-footed home at the back post following Jacob Murphy’s ball across in the 32nd minute.

Murphy had been recalled in place of summer signing Anthony Elanga – and this was a reminder why.

His teasing deliveries set up so many goals for former team-mate Alexander Isak last season and Gordon benefited from such an assist against Benfica.

Gordon, in the process, became the first Newcastle player ever to score in three successive Champions League games, while only Alan Shearer has more goals in the competition for the club.

“It means everything, but I need to get more,” Gordon told TNT Sport. “My ambition doesn’t stop there.”

This was a crucial contribution, though, as Benfica manager Mourinho needed no reminding.

His forward Dodi Lukebakio had earlier hit the post and forced Nick Pope into a fine save when the match was goalless.

“St James’ was quiet,” Mourinho said. “The fans felt that the game was not easy. They felt Benfica was much closer than Newcastle to score.

“They brought their enthusiasm in set-pieces, which is normal. When you have a team of giants, you know every set-piece, throw-in, lateral free-kick, corner is a dramatic moment for the opponent – and it was the only moment that they brought that enthusiasm and that pressure to the opponent.

“We felt very comfortable in the first half.”

More on Isak

The dramatic move came as Liverpool REJECTED Bayern Munich’s initial £58.6m bid for Colombian winger Luis Diaz while they are trying to encourage a high-price auction between AC Milan and Saudi money-pots Al-Hilal for Uruguayan Darwin Nunez.

But it is the stunning stepping up of the Reds’ long-term interest in Alexander Isak that has caught Newcastle on the hop, especially as boss Eddie Howe was hoping they were looking to play France under-21 star Etitike alongside

Liverpool chief Arne Slot has led the club’s mourning over the tragic loss of Portuguese star Diogo Jota following his car crash death earlier this month.

Slot and the Anfield hierarchy, though, are also aware that the start of the new Prem season is now less than a month away and that putting together a squad able to retain their crown is critical.

Newcastle are believed to value Isak at £150million, a sum that would be prohibitive even for Liverpool.

But a record-breaking bid, freeing up funds for Howe to bolster his squad ahead of a Champions League campaign in addition to the domestic demands might make Toon bosses think again.

Frankfurt are willing to sell Etitike but their starting price is £85m, although there may be wriggle room for negotiations.

Liverpool’s response to Bayern’s Diaz offer – the German champions fear they will be without Jamal Musiala for the entire season after his horror leg break in the Club World Cup – was a flat rejection although they are looking to offload Nunez.