Newcastle United Advance to Champions League Last 16 After Victory Over Qarabag

Newcastle United secured their place in the UEFA Champions League last 16 for the first time, completing a dominant 9-3 aggregate victory over Qarabag FK. The Magpies defeated the Azerbaijani side 3-2 in the second leg of the knockout play-off round, following a resounding 6-1 win in the first leg .

Match Report

The match, played on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at St. James’ Park, saw a crowd of 50,068 witness Newcastle’s progression . Sandro Tonali opened the scoring for Newcastle in the 4th minute, followed quickly by a goal from Joelinton in the 6th minute. Qarabag responded with goals from Camilo Duran (50th minute) and E Jafarguliyev (57th minute), but Sven Botman restored Newcastle’s lead in the 52nd minute, sealing the victory .

First Leg Dominance

Newcastle’s commanding performance in the first leg, played on February 18, 2026, laid the foundation for their advancement. Anthony Gordon starred with a remarkable four goals in a 6-1 victory in Baku , .

Next Round

Newcastle United will now face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the last 16, with the draw scheduled for Friday .

Other Champions League Results

Other results from the Champions League play-off round on February 24, 2026, included:

• Atletico Madrid (Spain) – Club Brugge (Belgium): 4-1 (3-3 aggregate)
• Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) – Olympiakos (Greece): 0-0 (2-0 aggregate)
• Inter (Italy) – Bodo/Glimt (Norway): 1-2 (1-3 aggregate)