Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov thanks Newcastle United fans after bowing out of Champions League at St James' Park
Newcastle United progressed to the Champions League round of 16 at the expense of Azerbajani side Qarabag FK after securing a 9-3 aggregate win in the play-off at St James' Park last night.
While the 9-3 scoreline looks like a total whitewash from a Newcastle perspective, that doesn't really reflect the tie as a whole.
Most of the damage was done in the first half in Baku last week when Newcastle raced to a 5-0 lead in the first half, but Qarabag came out fighting in the second half, clawing a goal back before they ultimately conceded another. They were a lot harder for Newcastle to break down, and what could have become a cricket score was kept surprisingly low in the end.
In Newcastle last night, Qarabag were much stronger overall after another shaky start that saw them concede two goals in the opening six minutes. After that, they reorganised, made life difficult for the Magpies and managed to score a couple of goals themselves.
Gurban Gurbanov thanked Newcastle fans for their reaction to Qarabag last night
Qarabag's first goal, scored by Colombian forward Camilo Duran, was a well-taken drive beyond Aaron Ramsdale, which earned a smattering of applause from the home fans. That was something that pleased Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov, who thanked the Newcastle fans for providing some support for his team.
"They came to the match to support their team. At the same time, they occasionally applauded our well-organised attacks. I wish Newcastle success in the upcoming matches. I want to say a special thank you to our fans. Our fans never abandoned us, both in away and home games."
It was a nice touch by the home fans who must have felt a bit sorry for the away side by that point, being 8-2 down in the tie with so much time left to play.
Who do you want in the next round of the Champions League
We've got our fingers crossed for Barcelona on Friday
Newcastle have to wait until Friday to learn their Champions League fate, knowing that they will face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the round of 16.
Whoever it is Newcastle draws, they will play the home leg first as the automatic qualification sides get 'seeded' status.
Neither tie is going to be easy, so we might as well get a trip to Barcelona out of it. Plus, do we really want to play Chelsea three times in a row?
