Just imagine the kind of stick Sam Allardyce might have faced for effectively playing five defenders at home.
Rafa’s men enjoyed just 19 PER CENT possession in Sunday’s 2-1 loss — while barely attempting to win the game.
Yet as Toon supporters continue to protest against owner Mike Ashley, Benitez remains untouchable.
Few would argue the Spaniard is not doing a decent job in the North East under extremely difficult circumstances.
But patience on Tyneside will surely start to wear thin if his side delivers many more performances like this one.
If newly-promoted Wolves can take on Manchester City on the front foot, surely Newcastle can have a go, too?
Newcastle travel to City on Saturday — and in the reverse fixture last season Benitez adopted similarly ugly tactics.
They only lost to a Raheem Sterling goal but were again barely in the game.
Newcastle were also negative against Tottenham in a 2-1 opening-day defeat.
And after facing the champions, they take on Arsenal in their next home game on September 15. Do not expect them to go all guns blazing then, either.
Unhappy with a lack of investment from Ashley, Benitez will argue he has been forced to play like this.
After the Chelsea defeat, he said: “I like to play with five strikers if I can.
“In all my career, we have tried to play attacking football and score more goals than the others.
“A long time ago, Barcelona had 80 per cent possession and lost the game. The stats are just for the TV.
“At Wolves, Man City had 71 per cent possession — and didn’t win. You have to do what you have to do. That’s it.”
So, while Benitez is right on the possession stats, the fact Wolves still tried to hurt City — and ended up with a draw — proved that being cautious is not always the key.
Manchester United also had most of the ball at Brighton, yet Chris Hughton’s side still took the game to them.
The Seagulls used a high press, putting United’s defenders under pressure and tried to win the ball back in dangerous areas. They deservedly won 3-2.
Benitez will argue that with 14 minutes left against Chelsea, his team were on course for a point — despite having trailed to a controversial penalty.
Eden Hazard scored from the spot when Fabian Schar was judged to have felled Marcos Alonso.
But Joselu’s header looked like earning a point, until DeAndre Yedlin’s unfortunate late own goal.
Had Dwight Gayle headed home at the death, Rafa would have been applauded for his tactics — if not his style.
As Blues defender David Luiz said: “It’s always difficult to play against a line of five, then a line of four. We tried to move the ball fast to find gaps.”
TV pundit Jamie Redknapp hammered Newcastle as “hard to watch” — and he was right.
The Geordies will hopefully offer more tomorrow at Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.
For the time being, Benitez is still king of Tyneside.
But as Tony Pulis discovered at West Brom, there comes a point when home fans in the Premier League just want some entertainment.
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