Anthony Gordon struck four times in the first half as Newcastle United thrashed Qarabag 6-1 away in their Champions League playoff first leg on Wednesday, to all but book their place in the last 16.

Gordon opened the scoring in the third minute, and Malick Thiaw headed in from a corner six minutes later to earn an early two-goal lead.

The 24-year-old Englishman made it 3-0 from the spot in the 32nd minute following a handball.

He added his third a minute later after a defensive error and converted another penalty in added time before the break, when keeper Mateusz Kochalski brought him down inside the box.

It was Gordon’s 10th goal in this season’s Champions League, more than Harry Kane (8) and Erling Haaland (7), with only Kylian Mbappe (13) ahead of him.

Elvin Jafarguliyev pulled one back in the 56th minute before substitute Jacob Murphy’s deflected strike in the 72nd minute sealed a dominant win for the Premier League side in Baku.

Eddie Howe’s injury-hit side, the only Premier League team not to qualify directly for the last 16, arrived in Azerbaijan on the back of successive away wins over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

They made it three on the spin in style, despite missing eight first-team players, including captain Bruno Guimaraes.

Wasting no time on what was the longest journey ever undertaken by an English club for a Champions League away match, the 2,529-mile trip from Newcastle upon Tyne to Baku.

Gordon opened the scoring in the third minute, finishing neatly to the keeper’s right after Dan Burn surged forward from a throw-in and threaded a pass through the defence.

The visitors doubled their lead six minutes later from a short corner on the left wing, Kieran Trippier delivering a lofted cross to the far post where Thiaw rose highest to head home.

Gordon made it three in the 32nd minute from the penalty spot after VAR spotted a handball by Matheus Silva.

A minute later, he pounced on a defensive error to race clear and fire past Kochalski, before hitting his fourth from the spot right before the break.

Howe made several changes in the second half with the win all but secured.

Jafarguliyev’s close-range effort was initially ruled out for offside before VAR overturned the decision.

With  Murphy’s goal wrapping up the easy win for Newcastle, Qarabag now face a daunting task in the return leg in England.

(Reuters/ NAN)