Newcastle to face Barcelona or Chelsea in UCL Round of 16

Newcastle United are set to face either Barcelona or Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16 after beating Qarabag 9-3 on aggregate across two play-off ties.

Eddie Howe’s side beat Azerbaijan champions Qarabag 3-2 at St James’ Park to ensure six Premier League teams will be involved in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Newcastle carried a healthy lead into the second leg at home after a sensational 6–1 away win over Qarabag. Anthony Gordon stole the show with four first-half goals, including two penalties, while Malick Thiaw and Jacob Murphy also got on the scoresheet.

Howe made seven changes to his starting XI which played in Azerbaijan largely to rotate the squad given the huge aggregate lead, with Aaron Ramsdale, Sven Botman, Alex Murphy, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes and William Osula all starting in place of several of those who began in Baku.

Newcastle picked up where they left off from the one‑sided first leg with a blistering start, taking a 2–0 lead within the opening six minutes.

Sandro Tonali opened the scoring in the 4th minute, and Joelinton followed up with a goal just two minutes later.

After the break, Camilo Durán pulled one back for Qarabag in the 50th minute, but Newcastle responded almost immediately when Sven Botman headed home soon after to restore a two‑goal cushion.

Elvin Cafarquliyev scored a second for the visitors to make it 3–2, though it wasn’t enough to prevent the Magpies progressing comfortably on aggregate.

Howe will now await his side’s Round of 16 opponents, with Friday’s draw setting up an exciting showdown against either Barcelona or Chelsea.

Speaking following the second leg win over Qarabag, the Newcastle manager was confident his team could go far in the competition, despite their drop off in league form.

"We want to go as far as we can and why not? I think we’re good enough to do it," explained Howe.

"That’s the great thing now in our season. There’s a positive feel that whoever we get in the next round, it will be an amazing tie for us.

“I believe that we can raise our game and compete with anybody. That’s what we’re going to have to do whoever we get, but I just think it’s a massive thing for us to give our season an extra boost to get through this knockout phase and then into the next one.

“That’s the mindset we have to have. We have to believe in ourselves. I think we’ve seen the best of ourselves this year when we’ve gone into cup games and one-off games where we’ve been able to really rise to whatever challenge we’ve had in front of us.”