Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk: Magpies complete 9-3 aggregate win to reach Champions League last 16
Newcastle secured progression to the Champions League last 16 with a 3-2 home win over Qarabag, completing a 9-3 aggregate victory. The result matters now because it confirms a last-16 tie against either Barcelona or Chelsea and arrives alongside shock results elsewhere in the play-offs.
Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk: Tonali and Joelinton strike early
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 goal in the competition. Two minutes later Harvey Barnes delivered a cross and Joelinton met it with a composed volley to make it 2-0 and effectively build on Newcastle’s 6-1 first-leg win in Baku the previous week.
Camilo Durán and Qarabag response
Camilo Durán pulled one back after half-time, skipping away from Dan Burn before finishing past Aaron Ramsdale, giving Qarabag’s travelling fans a moment of reward after a reported 2, 500-mile journey. The visitors, urged by manager Gurban Gurbanov to “be more careful and more responsible, ” had arrived on Tyneside at about 11pm on Monday and were due to board a six-hour flight back straight after the final whistle, across a four-hour time difference.
Sven Botman header, Burn hand and penalty sequence
Sven Botman restored Newcastle’s comfortable aggregate cushion when he headed home from a Kieran Trippier corner, re-establishing a seven-goal advantage on aggregate. Later Newcastle conceded a penalty for a Dan Burn handball; Ramsdale kept out Marko Jankovic’s spot-kick but Cəfərquliyev — named elsewhere in coverage as Elvin Cafarguliyev or Elvin Jafarguliyev — reacted quickest to convert the rebound and make the final scoreline 3-2.
Manager changes, debuts and squad rotation
Eddie Howe, who promotes a “One Brain” slogan to encourage collective focus, rotated his side heavily after the emphatic first-leg lead, making seven changes from Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City. The 21-year-old Irish defender Alex Murphy made his first start at left-back and later shared his reaction to making a Champions League debut. Anthony Gordon began on the bench. Nick Woltemade was deployed in a fluid attacking midfield role behind a struggling William Osula, described in coverage as ineffective; there is debate around the £69m Germany striker’s best positional role.
Howe reflected on the match by noting the visitors had raised their level: “They stabilised and made it difficult for us, ” and he added that while there is room for improvement the crucial outcome is that Newcastle are in the last 16.
Bodo stuns Inter; Leverkusen and Atletico also progress
Elsewhere in the play-offs, Bodo/Glimt stunned Inter with a 2-1 win that left the Norwegian side 5-2 up on aggregate after goals from Hauge and Evjen, with Bastoni replying for Inter. Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 with Olympiacos to win 2-0 on aggregate and will face either Arsenal or Bayern Munich in the last 16. Atletico Madrid beat Club Brugge to set up a tie with either Liverpool or Spurs. More second-leg play-off action was scheduled for 18: 30 GMT on Wednesday.
What makes this notable is how the scale of Newcastle’s first-leg victory — a 6-1 rout in Azerbaijan — allowed significant rotation without jeopardising progression, yet Qarabag improved during the second leg and left St James’ Park having shown slick passing and renewed resilience. That mixture of rotation, recovery and crowd travel schedules shaped the sequence of events that produced a 3-2 final score and a 9-3 aggregate outcome.
Ciaran Kelly was reporting live from St James’ Park, and the night closed with Newcastle confirmed in the Champions League last 16 and Qarabag exiting the competition with credit for a spirited second-leg showing.
Final scores of note from the evening: Newcastle 3-2 Qarabag (9-3 agg); Inter 1-2 Bodo (2-5 agg); Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Olympiacos (2-0 agg). Newcastle will meet either Barcelona or Chelsea in the next round.
