Newcastle United approached Tuesday night’s Champions League match in a strange position.
It is not often that you are 6-1 ahead after the away match.
Eddie Howe put in a strong side, even though he made seven substitutions from the eleven who started at Manchester City on Saturday.
Nick Woltemade, Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier were the only four to start both matches.
After just four minutes, Sandro Tonali scored the opener.
Two more minutes and it was Joelinton, now leading 8-1 on aggregate.
Perhaps predictably, Newcastle United slowed down a bit and got themselves into trouble at times by making too many passes across the pitch and towards the back as they seemed to be killing the game.
Things went sloppy at times and in the remainder of the match United only scored once, Sven Botman from a corner. Qarabag gets a few on either side of that goal.
While a number of other players saw their form and energy levels dip as the match progressed, one particular player did not at all.
Sandro Tonali was everywhere and even though he had such a huge advantage, he gave everything defensively and going forward.
No wonder the Newcastle United star was named Player of the Match.
While the UEFA Technical Observer Group explains why: ‘He kept a lot of possession, controlled the centre, made good passes, had a lot of energy and scored his goal at an important moment.’
Newcastle 3 Qarabag 2 – Tuesday 24 February 2026 8pm
Match statistics
Goals:
Newcastle United:
Tonali 4, Joelinton 6, Botman 52
Arab FK:
Duran 50, Ceferquliyev 57
Possess was Newcastle 66% Qarabag FK 34%
Total shots come Newcastle 19 Qarabag FK 13
Shots on target come Newcastle 8 Qarabag FK 6
Corners come Newcastle 9 Qarabag FK 6
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 36 Qarabag FK 20
Newcastle team at Qarabag FK:
Ramsdale, Trippier (Hal 54), Botman (Willock 54), Burn, Alex Murphy, Tonali, Joelinton (Gordon 54), Barnes, Jacob Murphy (Shahar 87), Osula (Wissa 73), Woltemade
Unused subtitles:
Pope, Harris, Ruddy, Neave, Elanga
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