Newcastle United edged past Qarabag to enter UCL 2025-26 round of 16
Their 6-1 victory in the first leg almost ensured their entry to the next round
They topped it up with a 3-2 win in the second leg
Newcastle United cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League after edging a five-goal thriller with Qarabag, winning their play-off second-leg 3-2 at St. James' Park.
The damage had already been done in the first leg after Anthony Gordon's four-goal display in a 6-1 Newcastle success, and despite a closer contest here, the Magpies still emerged 9-3 victors on aggregate.
Eddie Howe's team needed just four minutes to open the scoring through Sandro Tonali, who netted from close range after Sven Botman's header was pushed into his path.
And Newcastle doubled their advantage 80 seconds later, when a Harvey Barnes cross to the back post was volleyed home by Joelinton.
Qarabag did, however, pull one back five minutes into the second half, when Camilo Duran raced onto Joni Montiel's neat flick before finishing smartly at Aaron Ramsdale's near post.
Newcastle quickly restored their two-goal advantage, though, with Botman rising highest to power Kieran Trippier's corner into the net, but the visitors refused to back down.
They were awarded a penalty in the 57th minute after Dan Burn handled the ball inside his area, and despite Marko Jankovic seeing his spot-kick saved by Ramsdale, Elvin Cafarquliyev was on hand to squeeze home the rebound.
Barnes then forced Mateusz Kochalski into a smart save before Musa Qurbanli kept Ramsdale on his toes at the other end, with the Magpies holding out to win the second leg.
Data Debrief: Fast start paves the way for free-scoring Newcastle
Newcastle's progression to the last 16 was a foregone conclusion after their first-leg display in Azerbaijan, though they were made to work in front of their home supporters to win both matches in the tie.
And it was their lightning opening that helped them on their way. Indeed, it was the third time since the start of last season that a team had been 2-0 up within the opening six minutes of a Champions League game, with all three being English teams (also Aston Villa v Celtic in January and Liverpool v Atletico Madrid in September).
The Magpies were worthy of their win, after registering an expected goals (xG) total of 2.78 from their 19 shots, compared to Qarabag's 1.3 from 13 attempts.
Newcastle are now the Champions League's top-scoring team in 2025-26, with their three goals here taking their overall tally to 26, two better than Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, who are tied in second place.
