Newcastle United’s emphatic 6:1 victory over Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League play-offs not only secured control of the tie but also put Eddie Howe alongside some notable English managers in the competition’s history.
According to statistics provider Squawka, the win was Howe’s fifth in the current Champions League campaign — the joint-highest total ever recorded by an English coach in a single season. The Newcastle manager now shares the record with Bobby Robson, who achieved the feat with the same club in 2002/03, and Graham Potter during Chelsea’s 2022/23 campaign.
The result underlined Newcastle’s rapid progress on their return to Europe’s elite stage, with Howe’s side combining attacking fluency and high pressing to overwhelm the Azerbaijani champions. The Magpies had already impressed in earlier rounds, but the dominant display in the play-offs reinforced their credentials as one of the competition’s emerging forces.
One more victory would see Howe set a new standalone record for English managers in the Champions League — a milestone that now appears firmly within reach as Newcastle push deeper into the tournament.
