Anthony Gordon inspires huge Newcastle United win as Magpies canter to first leg play-off victory in Champions League
There's still the second leg to come, but it would take some sort of nuclear meltdown from Newcastle United to blow this now.
Out in Baku, Newcastle cruised into a 5-0 first-half lead as Qarabag seemed to forget what it was they were doing for 45 minutes.
Anthony Gordon helped himself to four goals, two of which were from the penalty spot, while Malick Thiaw added the other in the first half, with Jacob Murphy adding number six after coming off the bench in the second half.
Elvin Cafarguliyev got himself on the scoresheet for Qarabag in the second period before deflecting Jacob Murphy's shot beyond his own goalkeeper. We're still giving the goal to Murphy, though, his first in the Champions League.
There's not much to say about this one; it was all too simple
It was honestly far too easy in the first half as Newcastle tore through the Qarabag defence. We were fortunate with the first penalty award, as it was another one of those handballs that get given in the Champions League but would never stand in the Premier League.
In truth, Newcastle didn't need the assistance of such controversial penalty awards; Qarabag were making things easy enough as it is.
The home side switched to five at the back and half time, and that seemed to keep Newcastle at bay. They also upped their intensity and made life more difficult for the Magpies, but Newcastle had already taken their foot off the gas.
Malick Thiaw will sit out the home leg
Malick Thiaw bagged his fifth goal of the season and also picked up another yellow card. He is now banned for the second leg, but it was probably the best thing that could have happened.
The tie is pretty much wrapped up now, so Thiaw gets a rest in a game where he shouldn't really be missed.
That's now three wins in a row on the road for Eddie Howe's lads. A trip to Manchester City comes next on Saturday night. Can we continue this form at one of our biggest bogey grounds?
