Newcastle United approached Tuesday night’s Champions League match in a strange position.
Not very often you find yourselves 6-1 up after the away leg.
Eddie Howe played a strong team, even though making seven changes from the eleven that started on Saturday at Manchester City.
Nick Woltemade, Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier the only four starting both matches.
After only four minutes Sandro Tonali had scored the opener.
Another two minutes and it was Joelinton, now 8-1 up on aggregate.
Maybe predictably, Newcastle United eased off the gas a little and at times caused themselves problems by playing too many passes across the pitch and backwards, as they looked to kill the game.
Things getting sloppy at times and the remainder of the match saw United score just once more, Sven Botman from a corner. Either side of that goal, Qarabag getting a couple.
Whilst a number of other players saw their form and energy levels dip as the match went on, a certain player very much didn’t.
Sandro Tonali was everywhere and even though such a huge aggregate advantage, he was giving it his all, defensively and going forward.
No wonder the Newcastle United star was named Player of the Match.
With the UEFA Technical Observer Group explaining why: ‘”He retained possession a lot, controlled the centre, made good passes, had lots of energy and scored his goal at an important time.’
Newcastle 3 Qarabag 2 – Tuesday 24 February 2026 8pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United :
Tonali 4, Joelinton 6, Botman 52
Qarabag FK:
Duran 50, Ceferquliyev 57
Possession was Newcastle 66% Qarabag FK 34%
Total shots were Newcastle 19 Qarabag FK 13
Shots on target were Newcastle 8 Qarabag FK 6
Corners were Newcastle 9 Qarabag FK 6
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 36 Qarabag FK 20
Newcastle team v Qarabag FK :
Ramsdale, Trippier (Hall 54), Botman (Willock 54), Burn, Alex Murphy, Tonali, Joelinton (Gordon 54), Barnes, Jacob Murphy (Shahar 87), Osula (Wissa 73), Woltemade
Unused Subs:
Pope, Harris, Ruddy, Neave, Elanga