Key events
That is all from me tonight! Thanks for joining me and for all your emails. Join us tomorrow for a Eintracht Frankfurt v Liverpool MBM and another clockwatch featuring Chelsea v Ajax, Real Madrid v Juventus, Monaco v Spurs and more.
Guardiola speaks after his side’s win in Spain:
We played really well. In the second-half we played deep but in general we played a fantastic game and this is a good step for us in this competition.
I love that player [Rico Lewis]. I adore this type of player. He knows when and how he has to move.
We had more chances from the other players [other than Erling Haaland] – it is really good especially after we were a little disappointed in Monaco.
Last season was not good but our numbers in the Champions League in a year were not bad enough.
Some official number crunching for that Nick Pope assist. He launched the ball over 68 yards to assist Barnes’s third goal.
With it he is just the second English goalkeeper in history to assist a Champions League goal.
Richard gets in touch to react to tonight’s goals, goals, goals:
You just beat me to it! 43 goals in 9 games – just maybe I might have to eat a bit of humble pie and agree that this new CL setup is kinda fun for the fans. I feel a bit dirty saying it though …
And here is Sid Lowe’s report from Villarreal:
City were not hanging about, Haaland, Savinho and Jérémy Doku combining to force Luíz Júnior into making his first save after just 26 seconds and the Norwegian heading just wide a little over two minutes later. It was not easy to define the formation Pep Guardiola applied; at times it looked something like 3-2‑4-1, with John Stones stepping in to defence when Villarreal had the ball and out of it when City did.
Which is to say that most of the time he was out of it, the shape shifting with him and with others as well. City had 69% of possession in the first half, and the surprise was that it was as low as that: the naked eye suggested even greater dominance.
Barnes and Gordon speak to TNT Sports after the win.
Barnes:
Last season we weren’t in Europe and that hurt the players – this is what we want to be in, there is nothing better.
A few times when we have gone ahead in games we have not quite gone for that second or third goal and it has cost us. This is when we are at our best – playing attacking football with the crowd behind us. The third goal killed the game off which was important.
Gordon:
It means everything [to be the first Newcastle player to score in three consecutive Champions League games] but we need more, my ambition doesn’t stop there.
We had so many chances, we had to put one away to calm the nerves. I was glad to see it go in. Playing with [Jacob] Murphy, I knew he was going to play that ball every time. That goal is all about him.
We all love [Nick] Pope. He is one of the most popular people in the dressing room he is a top guy and a top keeper. He has kept us in so many game already this season and some of the saves he made were incredible.
Louise Taylor was at St James’ Park for Newcastle’s fantastic win.
When José Mourinho arrived on Tyneside and immediately showered Eddie Howe and his players with lavish praise, Newcastle fans feared the worst. Although such worries ultimately evaporated, it took a fine goal from Anthony Gordon and two more from the substitute Harvey Barnes to reassure St James’ Park that Benfica’s new(ish) manager would not be inflicting any pain on Howe’s team.
If Mourinho’s side, and their Belgium winger Dodi Lukébako especially, should remain unbowed by their contribution to an initially intriguing, highly compelling Champions League duel, Benfica’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages appear almost in tatters.
Read her full verdict here.
The Champions League table, as it stands. PSG top after their seven-goal rout, Arsenal third, City in fifth and Newcastle up to seventh.
Full-time scores
Newcastle 3-0 Benfica
Villarreal 0-2 Manchester City
Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid
PSV 6-2 Napoli
Bayer Leverkusen 2-7 Paris Saint-Germain
Union Saint-Gilloise 0-4 Inter
Copenhagen 2-4 Borussia Dortmund
Phew! 36 goals across the late games.
Leverkusen 2-7 PSG: Someone must have whispered to Vitinha that PSV scored six because he has just found the net for PSG’s seventh! Ridiculous win for Luis Enrique and his side.
PSV 6-2 Napoli: Six for PSV! The substitute gets his goal after an earlier assist with a great strike from the edge of the box after a well-worked one-two.
PSV 5-2 Napoli: Ricardo Pepi’s great first touch finds the back of the net. Now for the real question – will PSV catch up to PSG’s six goals? The French champions haven’t scored in 20 minutes, which is poor for their standards.
Villarreal 0-2 Man City: The visitors have gotten a bit complacent. They concede a needless corner and all of a sudden Oluwaseyi clatters the post. Big chance!
USG 0-4 Inter: Earlier Esposito poked home Inter’s fourth after a good pass from Ange-Yoan Bonny. Cruising to a win.
PSV 4-1 Napoli: It all fell apart for the visitors with a red card for Lucca for a foul on Obispo and Man has just got his second.
GOAL! Newcastle 3-0 Benfica (Barnes 83)
Mourinho watches on wide-eyed as Barnes wheels away in celebration. It is a great passage of play, starting from Woltemade to Gordon who then flicks it toward the goalscorer. Great passing from the hosts who have managed the game excellently.
Villarreal 0-2 Man City: The hosts have had a much better second half, their latest coming from Gueye, but Donnarumma keeps it out.
Leverkusen 2-6 PSG: You get a goal, you get a goal, everyone gets a goal! But in all seriousness, what a welcome return for Dembélé, the Ballon d’Or winner. It is a perfect near post from a tight angle after a tidy pass from Barcola.
GOAL! Newcastle 2-0 Benfica (Barnes 71)
Brilliant! Pope launches it towards Barnes and the forward latches on to it, runs past the red shirts and somehow finds the finish from a tight angle. That surely is one of the assists of the season.
Newcastle 1-0 Benfica: The hosts are furious. Guimarães thinks he has been pulled back in the box – and the replay does the Benfica defenders no favours – but play continues without a VAR intervention.
Newcastle 1-0 Benfica: Yellow card towards Benfica’s bench. Classic, though am unsure if it was towards Mourinho or his assistant. The Portuguese is furious after Sudakov gets fouled by Trippier. He jumps up from his seat but the referee quickly marches over and shows him a yellow.
Copenhagen 1-2 Dortmund: From the spot Bensebaini steps up and calmly sends the goalkeeper the wrong way to give the German side the lead.
Some breaking news to bring you: La Liga has announced that December’s planned move of Villarreal’s game against Barcelona to Miami has been called off, citing “the uncertainty generated in Spain in recent weeks”. More to follow.
Leverkusen 2-5 PSG: Oh hello! Comeback time? Probably not but García gets his second as he pulls one back for the hosts. It is a beautiful strike from far out straight into the top corner.
PSV 3-1 Napoli: Man with the faintiest of touches give the hosts the lead after a cross in from Mauro Junior.
Leverkusen 1-5 PSG: Breaking news … the French champions have scored again. Nuno Mendes slots the ball calm as you like after a stunner of an assist from Vitinha.
USG 0-3 Inter: The Italian outfit have their third after Calhanoglu scored from the spot following a handball in the box.
Newcastle 1-0 Benfica: Close! The hosts with some good play around the box before Woltemade has a go himself. It is deflected just wide and the German asks the crowd for some more. The resulting corner is swung in and is headed just over the bar by Miley.
Newcastle 1-0 Benfica: Lukébakio takes a long-range shot that goes right off the face of Botman. Ouch! He seems OK though and Benfica take their seventh corner of the night … which leads to zilch.
Peep! We are back in action around the grounds. Will Newcastle hold on to their 1-0 lead? Will PSG score another 374738 goals? Let’s find out.
Some more from the half-time post bag!
Kári on the PSG tornado:
When this PSG side gets going, it’s really something to behold, like a tornado bearing down on the opposition’s goal. I think this is the first time this season they’ve reached that intensity. So far they’ve been huffing and puffing, but not blowing any houses down. This was something else, though.
And Chris on hairstyles and bad touches on Tyneside:
The big news from the Newcastle game is that Anthony Gordon
s̶c̶o̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶ g̶r̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶o̶p̶e̶n̶e̶r̶momentarily lost his headband and was running around without it, so we got treated to his latest attempt at a hairstyle.Meanwhile, Nick Pope is in one of those moods where his first touch his bad, his second touch is worse and his third touch makes the first two touches look like prime Eusebio.
Some half-time reading: the Champions League round-up, to be updated throughout the night. Already with some hot-off-the-press news of a good night for Marcus Rashford.
Colum, keeping across the star-crossed goals in Eindhoven, writes in:
Focusing on the PSV-Napoli match here in Naples and have just witnessed two superb crosses by Spinazzola for Napoli and by the evergreen Peresic for PSV, leading to two goals. Glad McTominay has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch.
A lot of pressure on Napoli after the defeat to Torino in the league. Unfortunately, from the perspective of a Napoli fan, PSV have just scored a breakaway goal. But Napoli are playing positively, perhaps a tad too positive.
PSG scored in the 41st, 44th and 45+3rd minute to absolutely suffocate Leverkusen in the dying minutes of the half.
Half-time scores
Whew! It started slow and then there was quite a rush of goals. Here is how we stand after 45 minutes.
Newcastle 1-0 Benfica
Villarreal 0-2 Manchester City
Arsenal 0-0 Atlético Madrid
PSV 2-1 Napoli
Bayer Leverkusen 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Union Saint-Gilloise 0-2 Inter
Copenhagen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
USG 0-2 Inter: From a corner after a good chance from Lautaro Martínez, Dumfries evades the crowded box and lashes in the opener. Five minutes later, Martínez gets his goal to give the visitors a comfortable lead.
