Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk — newcastle vs qarabag fk: Newcastle reach last 16
newcastle vs qarabag fk finished 3-2 at St James' Park as Newcastle progressed 9-3 on aggregate to the Champions League last 16. The match produced early goals from Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, a Camilo Duran response after half-time, a Sven Botman header and a penalty follow-up by Elvin Cafarguliyev after Aaron Ramsdale saved the spot-kick.
Early goals set the tone
Sandro Tonali opened the scoring in the fourth minute after Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski could only parry William Osula's header into the path of the Italian, who netted his first ever goal in the competition. Newcastle added a second just a couple of minutes later when Harvey Barnes drilled the ball across goal and the unmarked Joelinton fired home expertly on the volley.
Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk reaction
Newcastle United cruised into the last 16 following another victory against Qarabag, with Eddie Howe's side already having one foot in the next round after a 6-1 rout in Azerbaijan last week. Much-changed Newcastle duly picked up from where they left off in Baku, racing into a two-goal lead, although Qarabag gave a spirited and improved account thereafter.
Qarabag fightback and penalty
Qarabag pulled one back after half-time when Camilo Duran skipped away from Dan Burn and finished clinically past Aaron Ramsdale, giving the travelling support a moment to remember after a mammoth 2, 500-mile journey. Newcastle defender Sven Botman quickly restored Newcastle's seven-goal aggregate lead when he headed home from Kieran Trippier's corner kick.
Later Qarabag were awarded a penalty after Dan Burn handled the ball inside the box. Aaron Ramsdale kept out Marko Jankovic's spot-kick, but Elvin Cafarguliyev reacted quickest to knock in the follow-up. The live updates also show the player's name rendered as Elvin Jafarguliyev and Cəfərquliyev in parts of the coverage.
Howe and Gurbanov comments
Eddie Howe, who favours motivational slogans and whose current favourite is "One Brain, " said: "They stabilised and made it difficult for us. " He added: "There’s a lot we can improve on but this is an amazing competition and the most important thing is that we’re in the last 16. "
Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov had instructed his players to "be more careful and more responsible. " Qarabag did not arrive on Tyneside until 11pm on Monday night and were due to board a six-hour flight straight back to Azerbaijan after the final whistle, with a four-hour time difference noted as part of their schedule.
Team changes, debuts and tactics
Howe made seven changes from Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. The 21-year-old Irish defender Alex Murphy was offered a first start at left-back and has shared his reaction to making his debut in the Champions League during Newcastle's win at St. James' Park. Anthony Gordon initially warmed the bench. Nick Woltemade started in a fluid attacking midfield role behind the ineffective William Osula; there is "quite a debate as to whether the £69m Germany striker is best deployed as a No 8, 9, or 10, " the coverage noted. Woltemade offered a flexible interpretation of the No 10 brief, linking play in ways that briefly unsettled Qarabag.
Qarabag's Kevin Medina was described as kneeling on the turf and praying immediately before kick-off.
Other play-off results and logistics
FT: Inter 1-2 Bodo (2-5 agg) — Hauge put the visitors in front, Evjen doubled the lead and Bastoni responded for Inter. FT: Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Olympiacos (2-0 agg); Bayer Leverkusen will face Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16. Atletico Madrid beat Club Brugge to set up a tie with either Liverpool or Spurs.
Use 'watch & listen' tab for live coverage. One of the live blogs was unavailable earlier: "Sorry, this blog is currently unavailable. Please try again later. " The live coverage noted: "That is all for this live page but you don't have to wait long for more Champions League action as we will be back at 18: 30 GMT on Wednesday for four more play-off second-leg ties. " The coverage closed with a thanks for joining and for comments.
Final scoreline from St James' Park: Newcastle 3-2 Qarabag, 9-3 on aggregate. The sequence of events was Tonali opener, Joelinton volley, Camilo Duran reply after half-time, Botman header from Trippier corner, and a Ramsdale save from Marko Jankovic followed by Elvin Cafarguliyev's follow-up finish.
Close: Newcastle advance to the Champions League last 16 after a 3-2 home win over Qarabag, completing a 9-3 aggregate victory and setting up progression alongside other tie outcomes from the play-offs.
