Newcastle United reached the Champions League last 16 by finishing a 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag, completing a pre-season goal set by Eddie Howe.
A 3-2 victory at St. James’ Park on Tuesday followed a 6-1 first-leg success in Azerbaijan, sending Newcastle into the knockout stages.
Howe said this progress matched the club’s planning for the 2025-26 campaign and credited the current squad. “This was our target at the start of the season,” Howe told Amazon Prime. “We discussed various things and to get to the knockout stages was there for us, and we felt we could achieve it with the players we have.”
Howe stressed that advancing in Europe must go hand in hand with better Premier League performances. “It’s been a really exciting phase of this competition. We’ve really enjoyed the different challenges. The knockout stage will be a different challenge for us at the sharp end against elite teams, so we’ve got everything to look forward to. But at the back of my mind, we have to get our Premier League form back to where we want it to be and that will give us the best chance to do well in this competition as well.”
Newcastle United now wait to discover whether Barcelona or Chelsea will be their Champions League last-16 opponents, with both clubs already assured of places in the round. Howe’s side have recent experience against each, having already met the LaLiga team in Europe and the London club in the Premier League this season.
Newcastle faced Barcelona earlier in the 2025-26 Champions League league phase and lost 2-1 at St. James’ Park. Marcus Rashford scored both goals for Barcelona in that match, turning the game in favour of the visitors after the hosts had threatened in spells against the LaLiga side.
Howe’s team also hosted Chelsea in the Premier League in December and drew 2-2 in that fixture. Newcastle led by two goals before Chelsea responded, with Reece James and Joao Pedro scoring to secure a point for the visiting side, who climbed back into the contest during the second half.
Asked if there was a preferred opponent between Barcelona and Chelsea in the Champions League knockouts, Howe insisted that the priority was qualification itself. “Genuinely, I haven’t given it a second thought. I know those teams have been there for us,” Howe said. “The main thing was to get through and be really pleased with the professional job we’d done. I think if you look at the score over the two legs, it’s been fantastic for the players even though today feels like a bit of a hollow win for us. We really enjoyed the game against Barcelona. We had a good game against Chelsea here as well. We didn’t win either, so I hope that’s a good omen for us.”
Newcastle United Champions League play-off drama against Qarabag
The decisive night against Qarabag opened at high speed, with Newcastle two goals up by the sixth minute. Sandro Tonali struck first before Joelinton quickly added a second, placing Howe’s team in a dominant position in front of the home support, building on the big advantage from Azerbaijan.
Qarabag responded after the interval when Camilo Duran scored five minutes into the second half. Newcastle quickly replied as Sven Botman headed in the team’s third goal on 52 minutes. The visitors still threatened, though, with Elvin Cafarquliyev converting after Marko Jankovic had a penalty saved by Aaron Ramsdale.
The two-legged scoreline also placed Newcastle in select company among English clubs in Champions League knockout history. Newcastle became only the third English side to score at least nine goals in a knockout tie, joining Manchester City and Arsenal in that category after their high-scoring performances in earlier seasons.
Newcastle have also been prolific across the entire Champions League campaign so far, recording 26 goals in UEFA’s main club competition this season. Qarabag’s defensive record stood in contrast, with 30 goals conceded, the highest total any team has allowed in a single campaign in the tournament.
Newcastle United Champions League belief within the squad
Jacob Murphy echoed Howe’s confidence that Newcastle can compete with either potential last-16 rival. “Anyone,” Murphy, who celebrated his 31st birthday by being handed the captain’s armband against Qarabag, said. “Honestly, with this group of players, we’ll take anyone on, especially with knockout football, we back ourselves. Bring on whoever’s to come.”
Newcastle United now enter the Champions League knockout phase having hit their pre-season target and produced one of the highest-scoring ties by an English club. The challenge for Howe’s players will be to maintain that attacking output, improve league form, and handle either Barcelona or Chelsea in the next round.