Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk: Howe's men reach Champions League last 16
Newcastle progressed into the Champions League last 16 after beating Qarabag 3-2 at St James' Park, completing a 9-3 aggregate victory. The win matters because it confirmed Newcastle's place in the last 16 and followed a 6-1 first-leg rout in Baku that had already put Eddie Howe's side in a strong position.
Early goals set the tone: Tonali's first Champions League strike and Joelinton's volley
Sandro Tonali opened the scoring in the fourth minute after Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski could only parry William Osula's header into Tonali's path; it was Tonali's first ever goal in the competition. Just a couple of minutes later Harvey Barnes drilled the ball across goal and an unmarked Joelinton fired home on the volley to make it two quick strikes and a two-goal lead for Newcastle.
Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk: Second-half fightback and the late penalty scramble
Qarabag rallied after half-time when Camilo Duran skipped away from Dan Burn and finished past Aaron Ramsdale, giving the travelling support — which had made a mammoth 2, 500-mile journey — a moment to remember. Sven Botman then restored Newcastle's seven-goal aggregate cushion with a header from Kieran Trippier's corner, but Qarabag were awarded a penalty after Burn handled the ball inside the box. Aaron Ramsdale saved Marko Jankovic's spot-kick and Elvin Cafarguliyev was quickest to react to knock in the rebound; the name also appears in some accounts as Cəfərquliyev.
Line-up notes, a debut and the matchday perspective
Alex Murphy shared his reaction to making his Champions League debut during Newcastle's win at St James' Park. Ciaran Kelly was present as a reporter at St James' Park and noted Newcastle were much-changed from the first leg in Baku but picked up where they left off. The team list and match ratings published included Aaron Ramsdale; Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, A. Murphy, Dan Burn; Sandro Tonali, Joelinton, Woltemade; Murphy, William Osula, Harvey Barnes. Subs were listed as Gordon, Hall, Wissa, Willock and Shahar.
Aggregate finish, wider ties and other Champions League results
Newcastle's 3-2 win completed a 9-3 aggregate victory and, by progressing, ensured the Premier League will have six representatives in the last 16: Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle. One report said Newcastle are set to face Chelsea or Barcelona in the last 16, with the draw scheduled for Friday; another account noted Bayer Leverkusen's goalless draw with Olympiacos finished 0-0 (2-0 agg) and that Leverkusen will face Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last 16. Atletico Madrid beat Club Brugge to set up a tie with either Liverpool or Spurs, while Inter lost 1-2 to Bodo to finish 2-5 on aggregate — Hauge put the visitors in front, Evjen doubled the lead and Bastoni responded for Inter.
Howe and Tonali reflect on the performance
Both Sandro Tonali and manager Eddie Howe admitted disappointment at Newcastle's second-half display. Tonali said: "I'm not very happy for the second half because we play just for the result. We have to do more because these fans deserve 100 per cent in every game. We can do 100 per cent more. We need to push every minute of the game. The first thing was don't concede a goal. The first ten minutes of the second half we concede the first goal. I think it was a stupid goal. Every time we concede a goal we are not happy. But we are happy because we progress in the Champions Leaague. We are training a lot for this. "
Further Champions League play-off second-leg ties are scheduled to continue, with a live update window noted at 18: 30 GMT on Wednesday for four more second-leg ties.
