Eddie Howe Hits Back at ‘Silly Question’ After Newcastle Reach Champions League Last 16

Head coach Eddie Howe dismissed what he described as a “silly question” after Newcastle United sealed their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League with a commanding 9–3 aggregate victory over Qarabag FK.

The Magpies had effectively secured progression with a 6–1 first-leg triumph in Azerbaijan and completed the job with a 3–2 win at St James’ Park on Tuesday evening.

Early goals from Sandro Tonali and Joelinton inside the opening six minutes set the tone in a dominant first-half display. However, complacency crept in after the interval, as Qarabag struck twice either side of a header from Sven Botman.

Newcastle will now face either Premier League rivals Chelsea FC or Spanish giants FC Barcelona in the next round.

‘A Massive Achievement’

Howe described reaching the knockout stage as a significant milestone for the club.

“I think it’s a massive achievement for us to get to the last 16,” he said. “Nothing was given to us at the start of this Champions League run that we’ve been on.

“I think we’ve loved the new format. I think it’s a really, really good thing. You get to see individual teams and then move on to another one. We’ve really enjoyed it.

“Coming to the pressure games, the double-header, I think we’ve navigated that really well because it’s a tough draw at this stage — I don’t care who you play.”

Howe added that much of the hard work had been completed in the away leg, allowing him to rotate his squad for the return fixture.

“We did the majority of the work in the away game. We’ve come through really well and today we were able to rotate our squad to a degree, with mixed success. But I thought it was a great performance. We’re really pleased that we won.”

Ambition Beyond the Last 16

Despite the achievement, Howe made it clear that Newcastle have no intention of settling for a place in the last 16.

When asked how far he hopes to go in the competition, the 48-year-old responded sharply: “I’ve got to say, that’s a silly question. We want to go as far as we can — and why not? I think we’re good enough to do it. We have raised our game, there’s no denying that.”

He pointed to strong performances in knockout football this season, including in the EFL Cup, but admitted consistency in the Premier League has been lacking.

“At times this season, even in the Carabao Cup, I thought we produced some really good performances in one-off games. The disappointment for us has been when we’ve returned to the Premier League — we’ve been desperate for consistency there and haven’t been able to find it.

“We want to find a remedy to that, but we also want to continue to go far in this competition.

“That has to be the mindset. We have to believe in ourselves. I think we’ve seen the best of ourselves this year when we’ve gone into cup games and risen to the challenge in front of us.”

With a high-profile tie awaiting in the next round, Newcastle’s European campaign continues to gather momentum — and Howe’s message is clear: the Magpies are not done yet.