Champions League draw: Newcastle face travelling 8,000 MILES for Qarabag clash and Real Madrid look for revenge against Benfica – as routes to the final become clearer for Arsenal, Liverpool and Co

Newcastle will have to bypass Qarabag for a spot in the Champions League final 16, after Eddie Howe‘s side were drawn against the Azerbaijan team ahead of their play-off tie next month. 

Qarabag may feel a sense of trepidation facing off with Premier League opposition for the second European match in a row, after being thumped 6-0 by Liverpool in their final game of the league phase. 

But unlike their defeat at Anfield, the club will take on Eddie Howe’s players on home turf – which will mean Newcastle will have to travel 8,000 miles midweek for their match on either February 17 or 18. 

In drawing Qarabag, Newcastle avoided a tie far closer to home against Monaco, who will instead face the Magpies’ Wednesday night opponents Paris Saint-Germain in a bid to make the last 16. 

Should they succeed in their play-off match, the Tyneside club will face either Barcelona or Chelsea in their round-of-16 clash. 

Their route to the final would then take on a distinctly English tinge, with a potential quarter-final against Tottenham, and a semi-final against Arsenal.  

Fellow Premier League sides also saw their pathways to Budapest become clearer on Friday

Elsewhere in the draw, the most eye-catching match-up is an immediate replay of Benfica’s blockbuster clash with Real Madrid. 

Jose Mourinho’s men booked their play-off spot in the most dramatic of fashions against his former club, with goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin providing a late header in injury time to confirm the 4-2 victory against the 15-time European champions. 

Real Madrid had previously been reduced to nine men in the five added minutes, following second yellows in quick succession for Raul Asencio and Rodrygo. 

In the wake of the wonder-goal, Mourinho sprinted out of his technical area in an echo of his touchline sprint celebrations of old, and swept up a Benfica ball boy in jubilation.  

The winner of the revenge tie may then have the opportunity to face Manchester City, with the winner of Bodo/Glimt versus Inter Milan the other team that could end up facing off against Pep Guardiola and Co. 

Liverpool and Tottenham, who also gained automatic qualification, with play either the winners of Galatasaray versus Juventus, or Club Brugge versus Atletico Madrid. 

Arsenal, who were the first Premier League side to gain qualification to the knockout rounds ahead of the final match day, will play the winner of either Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Atalanta, or the team that fares best between Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen. 

Of the eight teams to have qualified automatically, five were from the Premier League, with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Sporting Lisbon rounding out the pack.