FOOTBALL – NEWCASTLE United took their place in the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time after beating Qarabag 3-2 at St. James’ Park last night for a 9-3 on aggregate win.
The outcome was never in doubt after Newcastle thrashed Qarabag 6-1 in the first leg of the playoff in Baku last week but expectations of a second goal rush proved short-lived after a promising start.
Newcastle were 2-0 up with the fans in full party mode after six minutes, the two goals coming in the space of 80 seconds from Sandro Tonali in the fourth minute and Joelinton on the volley in the sixth.
Unlike in Baku, where Newcastle were already 5-0 up at half-time, the Magpies then eased off and allowed Qarabag back into the match as the expected second leg thrashing failed to materialise.
Camilo Duran pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 50th but Newcastle responded instantly with a powerful header from Sven Botman scoring his first Champions League goal two minutes later.
Manager Eddie Howe brought Anthony Gordon, the four-goal hero from the first leg, off the bench in the 54th minute in place of Joelinton with the score at 3-1, but the change had little impact.
The scoreline became 3-2 three minutes later when Elvin Jafarguliyev scored with a left-footed shot after Aaron Ramsdale had saved a penalty from Marko Jankovic following a Dan Burn handball.
Newcastle will now play Barcelona or Chelsea in the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, Bodo/Glimt dumped last season’s finalists Inter Milan out of the Champions League with a remarkable 2-1 win at the San Siro that sent the Norwegian minnows through to the last 16, 5-2 on aggregate.
Under sustained pressure, the visitors struck in the 58th minute when Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass on the edge of the Inter area and drove at goal. Yann Sommer pushed his shot away but Jens Petter Hauge reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range.
Haakon Evjen put the result beyond doubt in the 72nd minute, guiding a precise right-footed effort into the far bottom corner.
Alessandro Bastoni pulled a goal back for Inter in the 77th minute, but it proved too late to alter their fate.
Bayer Leverkusen endured late pressure but earned a 0-0 draw with visitors Olympiacos Piraeus to book their last-16 spot with a 2-0 aggregate win.
Leverkusen, who had won last week’s first leg in Greece 2-0 thanks to Patrik Schick’s double, will now face either German rivals Bayern Munich or Arsenal in the round of 16 next month. The draw will take place on Friday.
The visitors were disciplined and gradually increased the pressure to go close twice early in the second half, with Leverkusen keeper Janis Blaswich palming a Gelson Martins shot wide at full stretch.
The hosts responded with a chance of their own when Alex Grimaldo rattled the crossbar with a close-range effort in the 62nd minute but Olympiacos kept them firmly on the back foot.
The Greeks had several late chances, including when Lorenzo Scipioni flashed another shot narrowly wide, but Leverkusen held on for the draw.
Earlier, Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth scored a hat-trick as the Spanish side saw off Belgium’s Club Brugge to win 4-1 and advance to the last 16 with a 7-4 aggregate triumph.
Johnny Cardoso scored the other goal for the home side while Joel Ordonez netted for Brugge in the 36th minute.
Atletico opened the scoring after Brugge’s Hugo Vetlesen had two good chances blocked in the early stages as the Belgians came out the blocks with attacking intent and a high-pressing game despite being unfancied after a 3-3 draw in the first leg last week.
But Atletico’s quality triumphed after a dominant second half and they go into Friday’s round-of-16 draw to determine whether they play either Liverpool or Tottenham Hotspur.
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