Newcastle United into last 16 of Champions League after routine win over Qarabag at St James' Park
Newcastle United did all they needed to do at St James' Park tonight, ensuring their place in Friday's draw for the last 16 of the Champions League by beating Qarabag.
In fairness, Newcastle didn't even need to win tonight. The job was already done, and that was reflected in the low-energy atmosphere and fairly pedestrian game.
Newcastle were 2-0 up after just six minutes as it looked like the Magpies were ready to run riot, but the game died after Joelinton added to Sandro Tonali's opener.
Qarabag didn't roll over, though, and they grabbed a goal back five minutes into the second half through Camilo Duran, but their celebrations were short-lived as Sven Botman restored the two-goal lead for Newcastle.
Aaron Ramsdale saved a penalty after a Dan Burn handball, but couldn't keep out the follow-up
Elvin Cafarguliyev added to his first-leg goal by scoring Qarabag's second of the night, following up after apenalty save from Aaron Ramsdale. That took the aggregate score to 9-3, which is where it remained until the full-time whistle.
It was a strange game. The stakes were so low with the outcome pretty much confirmed after six minutes, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who was disappointed that Newcastle didn't put their foot on the gas and go for a bigger win.
They allowed Qarabag back into the game. It was almost as if they felt sorry for them and didn't want to humiliate them.
Some players did not seize their opportunity to impress tonight
Eddie Howe probably learned a bit tonight about some of his players. Alex Murphy looked solid on his full debut, and young Leo Shahar didn't look fazed by the occasion when he came on with just a few minutes remaining.
On the other end of the scale, Will Osula absolutely wasted his opportunity to impress. I can't for the life of me understand why he was kept on the field as long as he was; he was worse than useless.
Similarly, Nick Woltemade was abysmal tonight. Except for one nice turn that played Jacob Murphy in (I think it was), he was shocking. Every time the ball came to him, he lost it. He himself looked lost. It seems like his confidence has been absolutely eroded.
Overall, though, it feels a bit harsh criticising anyone after what was essentially a glorified training match. Now we just have to wait until Friday to find out if we face Barcelona in the round of 16, or if we face Chelsea three times in a week.
