UCL: Newcastle beat Qarabag 3-2, reach last 16 on 9-3 aggregate
Newcastle United cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League following another victory against Qarabag. Eddie Howe’s side already had one foot in the next round after a 6-1
Newcastle United cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League following another victory against Qarabag.
Eddie Howe's side already had one foot in the next round after a 6-1 rout in Azerbaijan last week.
Howe gave some key figures a breather for the second leg at St James' Park, as a result, but the Newcastle head coach wanted to ensure his players "didn't lose rhythm and the good feeling we had".
Much-changed Newcastle duly picked up from where they left off in Baku, after again racing into a two-goal lead, but this was a night where spirited Qarabag gave a much better account of themselves thereafter.
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Sandro Tonali opened the scoring for Newcastle in the fourth minute after Qarabag goalkeeper Mateusz Kochalski could only parry William Osula's header into the path of the Italian, who could hardly miss to net his first ever goal in the competition.
Newcastle scored another just a couple of minutes later when Harvey Barnes drilled the ball across goal and the unmarked Joelinton fired home expertly on the volley.
Qarabag could have gone under, as they did after going behind so early in the first leg, but the visitors rallied to their credit.
The Azerbaijan Premier League champions pulled one back after half-time when Camilo Duran skipped away from Dan Burn and finished clinically past Aaron Ramsdale to give the travelling support a moment to remember following a mammoth 2,500-mile journey.
Newcastle defender Sven Botman quickly restored Newcastle's seven-goal aggregate lead when he headed home from Kieran Trippier's corner kick, but Qarabag responded once again.
Qarabag were awarded a penalty after Burn handled the ball inside the box and although Ramsdale kept out Marko Jankovic's spot-kick, Elvin Cafarguliyev was quickest to react to knock in the follow up.
Newcastle pushed for another, but the hosts ultimately had to be content with an emphatic 9-3 aggregate win as they set up a last 16 tie against either Barcelona or Chelsea.
The draw is set to be made on Friday (11:00 GMT).
BBC
