Eddie Howe hits back at 'silly' Champions League statement as Newcastle United given route to the final
Eddie Howe has had his say on how far Newcastle United can progress in the Champions League this season after securing a last-16 spot.
Newcastle United cruised through to the last-16 of the Champions League on Tuesday night with a 3-2 (9-3 aggregate) win over Qarabag at St James’ Park.
The Magpies won the first leg 6-1 in Baku last week and raced into a 2-0 lead through Sandro Tonali and Joelinton at St James’ Park before letting Qarabag back into the game somewhat in the second half as they pulled back two goals either side of a Sven Botman header.
Eddie Howe’s side will now face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the last-16, with the draw set to be made from 11am GMT on Friday. The draw will produce a final bracket which will show each club’s last-16 opponents as well as the potential path to the final.
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Who could NUFC face in the Champions League knockout stages?
While Newcastle have reached the last-16 of the Champions League as part of a second group stage, they have never done so in a knockout match.
The Magpies will play the first leg on Match 10 or 11 at St James’ Park before travelling to Stamford Bridge or Camp Nou on March 17 or 18.
The winners of the last-16 tie will then face either Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool or Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final. The winners of the quarter-final will then face one of Bodo/Glimt, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City, Sporting, Bayern Munich or Arsenal in the semi-final.
Newcastle can’t face league phase opponents and holders Paris Saint-Germain or record 15-time winners Real Madrid until the final.
But all of that will become clear on Friday with a clear bracket and each team’s potential route to the final mapped out.
Champions League fixture dates
Once all the ties are drawn on 27 February, here’s when the games take place:
Last-16
- 1st legs: 10 & 11 March 2026
- 2nd legs: 17 & 18 March 2026
Quarter-final
- 1st legs: 7 & 8 April 2026
- 2nd legs: 14 & 15 April 2026
Semi-final
- 1st legs: 28 & 29 April 2026
- 2nd legs: 5 & 6 May 2026
Final
30 May 2026 at Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary
Eddie Howe hits back at ‘silly’ Champions League question
After the win over Qarabag, Howe was asked how far he wants Newcastle to go in the Champions League this season.
“That’s a silly question,” he responded. “As far as we can. Why not? We’re good enough. We’ve raised our game in one-off matches, even in the Carabao Cup.
“The disappointment has been returning to the Premier League and lacking consistency. We need a remedy for that. But we want to go far in this.”
Newcastle currently sit nine points off the top five and potential Champions League qualification in the Premier League but do have a slim but spectacular route to qualify for next season’s competition by winning the competition this season.
When asked what is more realistic for his side this season, Howe said: “I probably won’t answer that because it’s not something we’re thinking about.
“Of course we want Europe every season. The best way is to win as many games as we can. We’re desperate to get our Premier League form back on track and find that feeling of winning regularly.
“That’s what helps you return to the Champions League. This competition is amazing for us this year. You never know what football can bring. We’ll just attack everything and do our best.”