Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk — newcastle vs qarabag fk ends 3-2 as Newcastle reach Champions League last 16
newcastle vs qarabag fk finished 3-2 at St. James' Park as Newcastle United progressed to the Champions League last 16 with a 9-3 aggregate win. The result matters because Eddie Howe's side had already built a 6-1 advantage in Azerbaijan and closed out the play-off tie despite a spirited Qarabağ response.
Final scoreline, aggregate and setting at St. James' Park
FT: Newcastle 3-2 Qarabağ (9-3 agg) settled the play-off for a last-16 spot. The match took place at St. James' Park and completed a two-legged tie that included a 6-1 victory for Newcastle in Baku the previous week. Ciaran Kelly was reporting at St James' Park, and Alex Murphy shared his reaction to making his Champions League debut during the win.
Tonali and Joelinton strike inside minutes to set the tone
Sandro Tonali opened the scoring in the fourth minute after Qarabağ goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski could only parry William Osula's header into Tonali's path; the Italian's finish was his first ever goal in the competition. A couple of minutes later Harvey Barnes crossed and the unmarked Joelinton volleyed home to make it 2-0 on the night, with the second goal celebrated at the Leazes End.
Newcastle Vs Qarabag Fk: Durán response, Botman header and penalty rebound
Camilo Durán pulled one back for Qarabağ early in the second half after skipping away from Dan Burn and finishing past Aaron Ramsdale, a strike that rewarded travelling support following a mammoth 2, 500-mile journey. Sven Botman restored a large aggregate cushion when he headed Kieran Trippier's corner beyond Kochalski to make it 3-1; Botman was taken off almost immediately as part of a triple substitution. Dan Burn was penalised for handling the ball inside the box in the 56th minute. Ramsdale kept out a spot-kick taken by Marko Jankovic, and one account names Joni Montiel as a penalty taker who was also denied by Ramsdale; Elvin Cəfərquliyev reacted to score from the rebound, rendered in another account as Elvin Cafarguliyev.
Debuts, changes and notable performances
Eddie Howe made six changes to the side that had been narrowly beaten at Manchester City at the weekend. Alex Murphy started for Newcastle, making his full debut and first Champions League outing, and later teenage full-back Leo Shahar made his Newcastle debut. Nick Woltemade turned and supplied Jacob Murphy, who was celebrating his 31st birthday and drilled wide. Aaron Ramsdale produced an acrobatic intervention to tip a Camilo Durán shot over the bar and also made other important saves, while Abdellah Zoubir forced a brilliant stop from Ramsdale at another stage. Kevin Medina was involved in a turnover that led to one of Barnes' chances, which Kochalski denied twice, including a low strike the goalkeeper held.
Manager reaction, form and the next tie
"It's a massive achievement from us to get to the last 16, " Eddie Howe said after the 9-3 aggregate play-off victory at St. James' Park. Howe added that nothing was given at the start of the Champions League run and that the team had enjoyed it, and reflected that going 2-0 up so early created a potentially dangerous feeling. He said the majority of the work had been done in the away game and that the squad would reflect and improve on the performance. Newcastle have won four of their last five matches in all competitions and now face a two-legged tie against Barcelona or Chelsea in the next round; Howe said, "Whoever we get in the next round will be an amazing tie for us" and that he believes the side can raise their game and compete with anybody.
Other play-off results, live coverage notes and what's next
Elsewhere in the Champions League play-offs, FT: Inter 1-2 Bodo (2-5 agg) with Hauge putting the visitors in front, Evjen doubling the lead and Bastoni responding for Inter. FT: Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Olympiacos (2-0 agg); 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. The live build-up had prompted readers to use a "watch & listen" tab for live coverage, and a live page noted it would return at 18: 30 GMT on Wednesday for four more play-off second-leg ties; one scheduled blog was unavailable at the time, and commentators closed their live coverage with a "thanks as always for joining us and for your comments" message.
