Newcastle United defeated Qarabag 3-2 in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout play off, progressing 9-3 on aggregate to reach the round of 16.
The result confirmed Newcastle’s place in the next stage following their 6-1 victory in the first leg. Qarabag, despite competing throughout the tie, conceded 30 goals in this season’s Champions League campaign, the highest total in a single edition since the competition was rebranded in 1992 to 1993.
With qualification largely secured before kick off, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe made seven changes to his starting line up. Defender Alex Murphy, aged 21, was handed his first start.
Newcastle scored twice inside the opening six minutes at St James’ Park. Sandro Tonali opened the scoring after William Osula’s header was saved by Mateusz Kochalski, with Tonali converting the rebound for his first Champions League goal. Shortly afterwards, Harvey Barnes delivered a cross that Joelinton finished with a volley to make it 2-0.
Qarabag responded during the first half. Elvin Cafarguliyev forced Aaron Ramsdale to make a save at the near post. Ramsdale was required again to tip Camilo Duran’s strike over the crossbar before the interval.
Six minutes after half time, Duran reduced the deficit. He moved past Dan Burn and finished low inside the near post. Newcastle restored their two goal advantage within a minute when Sven Botman headed in from a Kieran Trippier corner, scoring his first Champions League goal.
Qarabag scored again after Burn handled the ball inside the penalty area. Marko Jankovic’s penalty was saved by Ramsdale, but Cafarguliyev converted the rebound to make it 3-2 on the night.
Both sides created further opportunities, but no additional goals were scored. Newcastle recorded their fourth successive home win in this season’s Champions League and matched their highest number of victories in a single campaign with six.
The club now await a round of 16 fixture against either Barcelona or Chelsea. Qarabag, meanwhile, have lost 10 of their 11 matches against English opposition in European competition.
