Eddie Howe used his confidence-boosting 9-3 aggregate victory over **Qarabağ**as a tool for belief that can “compete with anybody”, as Newcastle United await a last 16 draw against either Chelsea or Barcelona.
The Magpies passed Qarabağ in second-leg of the Champions League knockout round play-off tie without difficulty despite the fact the Azerbaijan-based side scored twice in the second half.
It was, however, goals from Sandro Tonali, Joelinton — which came inside six minutes — and Sven Botman that sunk Qarabağ to a 3-2 defeat on the night, crashing them out of the competition. Newcastle, on the other hand, will pull a remarkable opponent either way.
“That’s the great thing about our season now,” Howe said, as relayed by The Shields Gazette. “There’s a positive deal. Whoever we get in the next round will be an amazing tie.
“I believe we can raise our game and compete with anybody. That’s what we’ll have to do. It’s a massive boost for our season to get through this knockout phase and into the next one.
A banner was unveiled in honour of Howe and the work he is had done at Newcastle (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“We have to believe in ourselves. We’ve seen the best of ourselves this year in cup and one-off games where we’ve risen to the challenge. We’ll have to do that again.
“The challenge now is returning to the Premier League and building consistency in performance and style. Today was the poorest performance in the last group, but we’ve won four out of five. Perspective matters. Big games coming, starting with Everton.”
Before kick-off, as the players were walking from the tunnel, a tifo of Howe was brandished across one of the stands of St James’ Park and although he didn’t see it at the time, the Newcastle boss was shown replays following the game on Tuesday night.
“That’s very nice, isn’t it?” Howe told Prime Video. “It means an incredible amount. Amazing. A big thank you to everyone who thought of that idea, and it’s much appreciated. The love that supporters give me and the team means everything.”