It was the 79th minute, by which point the Championship leaders were 2-0 up and cruising after Gayle had fought tooth and nail to hand them a club record-equalling ninth straight win.
Gale’s clinical brace well and truly brushed aside Benitez’s pre-match doubts about whether to actually start the striker.
The summer signing from Crystal Palace awoke to reports claiming that he lost four teeth in a street attack during a night out in Liverpool last weekend.
It almost seemed not to matter after his goals either side of half-time delivered a knockout blow to a Leeds side with genuine play-off aspirations.
Asked about Gayle’s reported injuries, Benitez said diplomatically: “There was nothing. Obviously I know what was going on but there was almost nothing, I would say.
Gary Speed remembered with tributes during Leeds' clash with Newcastle
Sun, November 20, 2016Express Sport brings you the best pictures as Leeds United and Newcastle United teams and supporters pay tribute to former player Gary Speed during their Championship clash at Elland Road
Leeds United and Newcastle United players and fans paid tribute to former midfielder Gary Speed during today's Championship fixture on an emotional afternoon at Elland Road
“I told him ‘listen, if you want to be sure that nobody talks too much about that, then score goals’, which he did.
“It was quite difficult for me to decide whether to start with Gayle or Mitro because they have both been training well and scoring goals. But Dwight has been training with us, unlike Mitrovic who has been away on international duty for Serbia. They are both doing well.”
Even Gayle saw the funny side when the raucous visiting contingent serenaded him at the end with the chant ‘Dwight Gayle, he scores with no teeth’.
Gayle was grinning from ear to ear, having taken his tally for the season to 13 and Benitez was not far behind him.
The Spaniard’s team stand five points clear at the Championship’s summit this morning and it is hard to see anyone stopping them marching straight back to the Premier League.
Kevin Keegan was in charge when Newcastle last won nine games on the bounce in 1994 and Benitez added: “You have to give credit to our players.
“I said before, if we have the fans, the staff, the players, all together and pushing in the same direction, we will be stronger. I prefer to fight against complacency.”
The match between the old rivals attracted an attendance of 36,002 – Elland Road’s first full house since 2010 – and the memory of Gary Speed was honoured almost five years since his passing.
Speed’s parents were in attendance and in the 11th minute both sets of fans stood to applause and chant the name of the much-loved former midfielder.
Leeds, who last graced the top flight 12 years ago, would have gone fourth with a win, yet Newcastle always seemed destined to prevail, such was the quality of their play.
When former England goalkeeper Rob Green clumsily dropped Jack Colback’s lobbed effort in the 23rd minute, Gayle was on hand to fire home.
He struck again nine minutes after the restart, applying another clinical finish to Vernon Anita’s low right-wing cross to cap a delightful move which ripped Leeds apart.
The hosts were denied a first-half penalty when Colback appeared to block Ronaldo Vieira’s shot with his arm and Eunan O’Kane was then denied by Karl Darlow’s excellent save four minutes after the break.
But it was Gayle’s day and Leeds boss Garry Monk said: “I felt the game was decided by some critical moments that we fell on the wrong side of because we had a clear-cut penalty turned down.
“We competed very well against a side who are top of the league. You could see there wasn’t a gulf between the teams but their second goal was one moment where you could really see their quality.”