Newcastle beat Qarabağ 3–2 to reach Champions League round of 16

Newcastle United F.C. booked their place in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 after a hard-fought 3–2 victory over Qarabağ FK on Tuesday night.

The win sealed a convincing 9–3 aggregate triumph for manager Eddie Howe’s side, confirming their strong return to Europe’s biggest club competition.

Newcastle now join five other English clubs in the last 16 — Arsenal F.C., Liverpool F.C., Chelsea F.C., Manchester City F.C., and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. — highlighting the dominance of Premier League teams in this season’s knockout stage.

The tie, which required both teams to undertake a 5,000-mile round trip, had effectively been settled in the first leg when Newcastle stormed to a 5-0 half-time lead before finishing with a 6-1 win. That commanding advantage allowed Howe to rotate his squad, leaving first-leg four-goal star Anthony Gordon on the bench.

Despite the changes, Newcastle struck early once again. Sandro Tonali converted the rebound after Dan Burn’s effort was parried, and Joelinton soon doubled the lead by finishing off Harvey Barnes’ cross.

Qarabag, who had previously beaten Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt in the league phase to reach the play-offs, responded with two second-half goals to restore some pride. Camilo Duran raced past Burn to reduce the deficit before the Newcastle defender conceded a penalty for handball. Although Aaron Ramsdale saved Marko Jankovic’s spot-kick, Elvin Jafarguliyev reacted quickest to score the rebound.

In between those goals, Sven Botman rose highest to head home from a corner.

The result also saw Qarabag concede their 30th goal of the campaign — the most ever allowed by a club in a single Champions League season.