I watched a Champions League win behind enemy lines amongst 50 rival fans - and I loved it: FourFourTwo goes undercover

While some were fortunate enough to be among the 52,000 at St. James' Park on a triumphant night of Champions League football, others watched at home and in pubs and similar establishments as the game was beamed across the globe.

'Casa Benfica', a Portuguese bar and restaurant in London's Stockwell area, then, is perhaps the last place you'd find a Newcastle fan for that particular fixture.

FourFourTwo went along to find out what it's like to watch a big game behind enemy lines.

FourFourTwo goes undercover for Newcastle United vs Benfica

While Newcastle had won one and lost one of their opening two Champions League matches this season, Benfica's record was played two, lost two.

With the Portuguese side's ignominious 3-2 home defeat against European minnows Qarabag on matchday one, which only occurred after Benfica had taken a two-goal lead, in addition to a 1-0 loss against Chelsea on matchday two, a Newcastle side sitting 14th in the Premier League represented the chance to finally get their Champions League campaign underway.

The Toon Army were favourites ahead of kick-off, their home form especially strong in recent seasons under Eddie Howe, but Benfica's last trip to the north-east ended in victory for the Lisbon club and the same outcome was plausible again.

Little Portugal, as the area is colloquially known, in South London is the capital's largest Portuguese-speaking community home to various cafes, bars, and food shops. Naturally, one of Portugal's biggest clubs has a presence in the area and FFT chose the aptly-named Casa Benfica to take in the evening's Champions League action.

Striding into the restaurant 15 minutes before kick-off, we were promptly seated upstairs on the mezzanine, but not before being eyeballed by several patrons on the packed-out ground floor, all clad in Benfica shirts past and present. The initial experience was perhaps as close as this journalist will ever get to being the conspicuous highwayman with spurs on his boots flinging open a Wild West saloon door before a firefight ensues.

All jokes aside, the welcome was a warm one, no questions asked, few words exchanged: a table, food, Sagres and football.

For those who may have forgotten their colours, fear not, there is a glass shop front straight out of a Benfica club store situated at the back of the restaurant, complete with mannequins donning the club's 2025/26 strip. Bizarre, and not something we've seen before, but we love it.

Making our way up to the mezzanine, or the away end, it was impossible to miss the walls adorned with Benfica memorabilia and scarves from supporters clubs across the country.

FFT ordered the 'Francesinha', a Portuguese sandwich dish with layers of ham, sausage, and steak between two slices of toasted bread, complete with an egg on top, swimming in a beer-and-tomato sauce - and let me tell you, reader, it was fantastic.

For the uninitiated, a Francesinha is something that resembles a cross between a Teesside 'Parmo' and French toast, if it were surrounded by a moat. Rich, hearty and dense, we buried our head in the dish and got to work, only alerted to Dodi Lukebakio striking the frame of Nick Pope's goal during the first half by the anguished roars of supporters seated downstairs.

Benfica were well in the game before the Newcastle opener, and that was reflected by the genuine cries of frustration at each missed opportunity from the gentleman dining alone at the table adjacent to FFT.

Newcastle's first on the night was a goal straight out of last season, albeit with a different scorer. Bruno Guimaraes picked up the ball in the right-hand half-space 35 yards or so from goal, spotted the run of Jacob Murphy into the penalty area and split the Benfica defence - a ball Newcastle fans have seen executed time and time again.

Murphy, who was given the nod ahead of summer signing Anthony Elanga, cushioned a pass into the path of an arriving Anthony Gordon who dispatched of the chance with a Mesut Özil-style finish, bouncing the ball over the outstretched limbs of Anatoliy Trubin from close range with the instep of his boot. One nil. Don't celebrate. Not least because there's a long way to go. And you've got three-quarters of your Francesinha to finish.

There are few things in life as enjoyable as foreign commentators shoehorning British names into play-by-play reporting in their native tongue. So, for Anthony Gordon to finish a chance set up by Jacob Murphy, whilst watching the game on Portuguese channel 'Sport TV 5', it was a particularly agreeable sound for the non-Lusophones at Casa Benfica.

After mopping up the rest of the Francesinha's 'molho' sauce with a side portion of chips throughout half-time, FFT were satiated in body and spirit as the second half got underway.

Harvey Barnes' introduction from the bench was a welcome sight, particularly as a one-goal lead was all too slim but especially due to the fact seven of his previous 15 Newcastle goals had been scored as a substitute.

On 70 minutes, summoning the strength and technique of an Olympic champion discus thrower from the former USSR, Newcastle 'keeper Pope hurled the ball forward for what could be described as the assist of the season. Barnes ran onto it, which cleared halfway by a distance, nipped beyond Antonio Silva, whose missed interception elicited knowing groans from the majority of those inside Casa Benfica, and did well to evade a last-ditch challenge, placing his effort into the back of the net via the far post. Two nil. Okay, a little celebration.

The mezzanine was busier by this point and no other spectator was levitating in their seat each time Gordon went past Benfica's right-back. While three points were firmly at the front of FFT's mind, so, too, was diplomacy.

When Gordon made his next burst into the penalty area and was felled by Richard Rios, we decided to deploy the international hand signal for 'he's taken a dive, there', even if we really thought Szymon Marciniak should have been blowing up for a spot-kick.

It didn't matter, though, because minutes later, Newcastle had a third and like the first, it came at the end of a lovely three-player move.

Gordon dropped deep, laying it off to Nick Woltemade whose backheel flick found the Merseysider once more. Benfica, struggling to pick up either of the flaxen-haired Newcastle combo that were breaking towards goal, were pulled one way by Woltemade's run and the other by Gordon's dribble and pass, which found Barnes. A more straightforward finish beneath the 'keeper followed and that was curtains. Three nil. Okay, stop there, three is good. Enough. We don't want to be dangled by our ankles from the balcony of the mezzanine.

Newcastle obliged and kept the scoreline to three, much to FFT's delight at not having to run the gauntlet and make a hasty exit.

The vibes were cordial, pleasant even, at full-time. There's a genuine community feel to Casa Benfica and that was demonstrated by what we assume was a Sagres-infused debrief between some of the home fans downstairs. The seating plan we'd witnessed on arrival was no more as cross-table conversations were in full swing while FFT slipped out. We paid our bill and went on our way, but not before taking in some more of the busy decor in what was a unique Champions League matchday experience.