Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk: Newcastle finish off Qarabag in rapid time to set up Chelsea or Barcelona tie
In the Champions League knockout play-off second leg, newcastle vs qarabag fk ended 3-2 on the night and 9-3 on aggregate as Newcastle progressed to the last 16 after another strong showing following their 6-1 win in Baku the previous week.
Newcastle raced into a two-goal lead inside five minutes
Sandro Tonali opened the scoring in the fourth minute after Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski could only parry a William Osula header into the Italian’s path; it was Tonali’s first ever goal in the competition. A couple of minutes later Harvey Barnes drilled a ball across goal and an unmarked Joelinton fired home expertly on the volley to make it 2-0 inside the opening exchanges.
Camilo Durán and a late response from Qarabag
After half-time Camilo Duran skipped away from Dan Burn and finished clinically past Aaron Ramsdale to give Qarabag a route back into the tie. Newcastle restored a bigger cushion when Sven Botman headed in from a Kieran Trippier corner, but Qarabag won a penalty when Burn handled inside the box.
Aaron Ramsdale saved Marko Jankovic’s spot-kick, but Elvin Cəfərquliyev was quickest to react and knocked in the rebound. The follow-up goal has appeared under multiple spellings in match coverage: Elvin Cafarguliyev and Elvin Jafarguliyev.
Debuts, selections and match context at St James' Park
Alex Murphy made his Champions League debut and shared his reaction after the match at St James' Park; Murphy had been handed a first start at left-back. Newcastle made seven changes from Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. The 21-year-old Irish defender Alex Murphy started, Anthony Gordon began on the bench, and Nick Woltemade started in a fluid attacking midfield role behind William Osula, who was described as ineffective in possession and chance creation on the night.
Howe, Gurbanov and the travel toll on Qarabag
Manager Eddie Howe uses the slogan "One Brain" and said: "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" after the previous heavy defeat; his side did not arrive on Tyneside until 11 p. m. on Monday and were scheduled to board a six-hour flight straight back to Azerbaijan after the final whistle, with a four-hour time difference to factor in. Kevin Medina was pictured kneeling on the turf and praying immediately before kick-off.
Other Champions League play-off results and what followed
Elsewhere in the play-offs, Inter lost 1-2 to Bodo to finish 2-5 on aggregate, with Hauge giving Bodo the lead, Evjen doubling it and Bastoni scoring for Inter. Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 with Olympiacos to win 2-0 on aggregate. Atletico Madrid beat Club Brugge to set up a last-16 tie with either Liverpool or Spurs.
One live update page was not accessible on the night; a message read: "Sorry, this blog is currently unavailable. Please try again later. "
What this result means and what comes next
Newcastle’s 3-2 victory on the night completed a 9-3 aggregate win and sent them into the Champions League last 16, setting up a tie against either Chelsea or Barcelona. The competition’s play-off schedule continues with more second-leg ties scheduled to begin at 18: 30 GMT on Wednesday for four further fixtures.
