As Jose Mourinho came at St James' Park and praised Newcastle's coach and his squad, local supporters feared a difficult game. However such worries vanished thanks to a goal from Anthony Gordon and a brace from replacement Harvey Barnes, making sure Benfica's new manager would not cause pain for Howe's team.
The Benfica boss had forecast that the home side would be extremely aggressive, but his Benfica players displayed their own aggressive approach. The visitors certainly enjoyed breaking up Newcastle's initial attempts to establish a smooth passing tempo.
Adding to Newcastle's issues, two players, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, began as substitutes as they were recovering from sickness and a knock each.
Before kick-off, the two managers shared a brief, reserved greeting, and it soon became apparent that the Benfica coach had instructed his team to quiet the home fans by slowing the game and lowering the temperature at every chance.
Benfica's tactic yielded mixed results, but when Gordon and the Newcastle attack succeeded to break through the backline, they at first found it hard to generate clear opportunities.
Additionally, the Belgium attacker Lukebakio nearly showed scoring skill when, after leaving Dan Burn behind, he forced Newcastle's keeper with a tremendous shot that required an terrific single-hand stop. No wonder the goalkeeper retains hope for an England recall in time for the global tournament.
Yet when the winger hit a further shot off the post, the home side woke up. Murphy fired wide, and Benfica's keeper made an excellent close-range save from Bruno Guimaraes before Gordon finally broke the scoreless tie.
The England winger's blazing speed had created problems for Mourinho all night, and he neatly slotted the first goal past Trubin after Murphy's quick cross into the area proved effective.
When Newcastle's hard, pressing game was not anticipated by the opposition, Murphy, chosen over £55m Anthony Elanga, was there to pass a ground cross across the goal for the winger to finish.
Right from the start, Benfica could not be blamed of defending deeply and playing for a draw, but now their players attacked with real freedom. Lukebakio consistently showed an skill to unsettle Howe's defense, and the Magpies were probably relieved to regroup at the break.
The first half ended with the keeper once more rescuing his team by diverting Lukebakio's left-foot around the post, and as the sides emerged for the next period, the match seemed evenly poised.
If Gordon, evidently boosted by scoring his fourth goal in three Champions League games this campaign, played with the determination of a wide player aiming to shift the power balance in his team's direction, Lukebakio had different ideas.
Mourinho's No 11 had already shown that, while Burn is a fine central defender, he is not a born full-back, and home fans were nervous every time Lukebakio moved forward.
Howe might have relaxed had Miley, deputising for Sandro Tonali, not directed a corner over the crossbar from a well-placed spot. Instead, this absorbing game continued to move from one goal to the other, prompting Newcastle's manager to introduce Joelinton and Barnes in place of Ramsey and Murphy.
Mourinho, meanwhile, brought on an additional forward in Ivanovic. This would perhaps prove a gamble that backfired.
Until then, Benfica, and in particular their Portugal back Silva, had performed a fine job in limiting Woltemade's room and pushing the German striker deep. However, with defender Amar Dedic off, the backline was underpowered, and the way was clear for Barnes to show that Anthony Gordon is not the manager's only goal-scoring winger.
The home side's double substitution was already paying off by the time Pope sent a superb throw in the substitute's direction. When Antonio Silva, on this occasion, misread the bounce, the winger was away, sprinting into the area before maintaining impressive poise to lash a superb strike past the keeper.
When Barnes rolled a shot through poor the goalkeeper's feet after meeting Anthony Gordon's excellent pass, it was all over. Mourinho had warned that Newcastle have four very fast wide attackers, and a trio of strikes from two wingers had shattered his hopes of earning the team's first European result of the campaign.
