Plenty had been made of Newcastle’s 2,529-mile trip to Baku – the longest distance an English side has ever travelled for a UCL away clash – and potential fatigue alongside injuries suggested the Toon could be in for a difficult evening. However, by half-time in the Azerbaijani capital, the tie was effectively over as Newcastle blitzed their sorry opponents.
They required less than three minutes to break the deadlock, as Anthony Gordon ran onto Dan Burn’s through ball before firing past Mateusz Kochalski.
By the 10-minute mark, the visitors were two to the good when Malick Thiaw headed home Kieran Trippier’s cross to give Eddie Howe’s men complete control.
A flurry of last-gasp Kochalski stops kept Qarabag within touching distance as the Pole twice denied Gordon, and then Harvey Barnes, but he ultimately only delayed the inevitable.
Newcastle’s third came from the penalty spot after Matheus Silva had handled Barnes’ shot, and Gordon doubled his side’s tally from 12 yards with an emphatic effort.
And with Qarabag on their knees, Gordon sealed a hat-trick just 60 seconds later, by pouncing on the dawdling Kevin Medina before slotting into the corner.
The Horsemen’s nightmare first period was capped off when they gave away another penalty on the brink of half-time, this time after Kochalski brought down Gordon as the last man.
Despite the dominant display, a tense interaction ensued between the man of the moment and captain Trippier, with the former refusing to let Joe Willock step up instead prior to netting for a fourth time. Perhaps the Liverpudlian had one eye on the UCL scoring charts, given his quadruple took him to 10 goals in the competition this term, second only to Kylian Mbappe.
A drop in intensity from Howe and co. was evident after the restart, allowing Elvin Cafarguliyev to net a consolation from a tight angle.
That strike certainly boosted the home team’s confidence for a short while, and they tested the otherwise untroubled Nick Pope courtesy of Joni Montiel’s fierce effort.
Eventually, though, Newcastle regained their composure and restored their five-goal advantage through substitute Jacob Murphy’s deflected effort from outside the area.
Murphy’s contribution ended any Qarabag hopes of staging the unlikeliest of comebacks as Newcastle saw out the remainder of the game with ease.
This landslide success means they have now won their last three games – all away from home – while this was only their third triumph in 16 European games on the road.
Qarabag, meanwhile, have won just one of their past seven fixtures in all competitions, and even with a second leg to come at St. James’ Park next Tuesday, their 2025/26 UCL journey is surely over already.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
