Newcastle United secure comfortable progression to Champions League knockout phase

Newcastle United sealed their advancement to the Champions League round of 16 via a 3-2 victory against Qarabag on Tuesday, resulting in a 9-3 aggregate triumph over the Azerbaijani title winners.

The Tyneside club now forms part of a group of six English teams reaching the knockout stage, together with Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham.

The matchup demanded a round trip exceeding 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometres) for each team, yet it was effectively decided within the initial 45 minutes of the first leg when Newcastle surged to a 5-0 lead at the break, culminating in a 6-1 victory.

This margin enabled Eddie Howe to make significant changes to his lineup, leaving out key players like Anthony Gordon, who netted four times in the opening encounter.

Nevertheless, Howe expressed frustration over the team's second-half performance, despite another strong opening where they extended their advantage with two goals in the first six minutes.

Sandro Tonali capitalised on the rebound following a save from Dan Burn's effort, and Joelinton finished neatly from Harvey Barnes' delivery.

"Considering the overall score across both matches, the players delivered an outstanding performance, although this result feels somewhat empty for us," Howe remarked.

"After reaching 2-0, we seemed to ease off unintentionally, which was a natural response.

"The second half turned into a chaotic affair, which was disappointing as it drained our energy unnecessarily and prevented us from dominating their defence."

Qarabag had previously overcome Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt during the league stage to reach the play-offs, and they restored some dignity with a pair of second-half strikes.

Camilo Duran sped past Burn to reduce the deficit, after which the Newcastle centre-back was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area.

Aaron Ramsdale stopped Marko Jankovic's spot-kick, but Elvin Jafarguliyev converted the follow-up.

In the midst of Qarabag's responses, Sven Botman rose to head in from a set-piece corner.

This effort brought Qarabag's goals conceded in the Champions League this season to 30, establishing a new single-campaign record.

Newcastle faces a far sterner challenge in the coming month, drawn against either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16.