Newcastle fans rip into ‘absolutely shocking’ Will Osula as his full stats emerge from Qarabag display
Newcastle fans are not happy with Will Osula after he failed to impress while being handed a rare start against Qarabag in the Champions League.
Newcastle headed into Tuesday’s Champions League playoff second leg with a commanding 6-1 lead after thrashing Qarabag in Baku last week.
Eddie Howe went strong at St James’ Park, despite their almost certain progression, and his side ran out 3-2 winners on the night to comfortably progress to the last 16.
The Magpies were 2-0 up inside six minutes through Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, while Sven Botman extended their lead in the second half between two Qarabag strikes.
Howe put his faith in young striker Osula from the off on Tyneside, but he struggled to produce anything of note and left their supporters disappointed.
Will Osula barely touched the ball vs Qarabag despite Newcastle’s dominance
Osula was handed his maiden UCL start and just his fourth of the season across all competitions, with Nick Woltemade assuming a central midfield role once more.
The Danish striker’s sole shot on target came in the fourth minute of the match, as he missed a big chance with his close range header being saved before Tonali turned home.
He then went on to make just two accurate passes all game, while he lost possession seven times, won just four of his 10 combined ground and aerial duels, and failed to complete a successful dribble from two attempts.
Many Magpies fans fumed at his lack of desire and quality, with one taking to X to say: “You would think Osula would be giving his absolute all to try and force himself in contention… apparently not! That was as bad as we’ve seen up there all season and that’s saying something. Puts more effort into TikTok.”
While another fan added: “Osula should be nowhere near that team. Not been good enough from day 1…strange transfer.”
And one supporter said: “Please take Osula off and never play him again, he’s one of the worst players I’ve ever seen pull on the shirt.”
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Who could Newcastle play in the UCL last 16?
Newcastle’s progression against Qarabag marks their first-ever foray into the Champions League‘s round of 16 stage.
At this stage, Howe’s side are aware that they are set to play one of Chelsea or Barcelona, with the preliminary draw having already been made after the conclusion of the league phase.
Newcastle fans can tune into the official draw for the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final on Friday, 27 February at 11am.
The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com, UEFA.tv and the official Champions League app, as well as being broadcast on TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the UK.