Saved by Tonali: Newcastle star played his worst game of the season
By Dan Emery
26 – 33 minutes
Newcastle United
4
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Newcastle United booked their place in the semi-finals of the League Cup with a convincing 3-1 win over Brentford at St. James’ Park on Wednesday night.
The Magpies will now wait to find out who they will be playing over two legs in the January semi-finals, in the hopes of returning to Wembley for the first time since 2023.
Sandro Tonali’s first-half double had the hosts in front at the break before Fabian Schar made sure of the result with a second-half finish from close range, with Yoane Wissa netting a consolation in stoppage-time.
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The headline of the night was, of course, the performance of Newcastle’s number eight in the middle of the park, as the Italian stole the show.
Sandro Tonali’s match-winning performance
It was the Italy international who set the tone for the evening at St. James’ Park with his rasping effort from distance in the ninth minute to make it 1-0, beating Mark Flekken with a low drive.
The former AC Milan star added his and Newcastle’s second of the match just before half-time as Anthony Gordon’s corner was met on the volley by the midfielder to beat the Brentford ‘keeper at his near post.
Tonali’s two goals were far from the only impressive aspect of his performance, however, as the central midfielder also completed 93% (56/60) of his attempted passes, to help the Magpies control the game.
The Italian dynamo also won six of his 11 ground duels, completing four tackles to win possession back for Newcastle, which shows that he offered quality in and out of possession.
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Thankfully, Tonali’s phenomenal performance in midfield for Eddie Howe saved Alexander Isak, who did not enjoy his finest night at St. James’ Park against the Bees.
Alexander Isak’s performance in numbers
The Sweden international played, arguably, his worst game of the season on Wednesday night, but it did not matter in the end because of the Italy international’s magic display.
Isak-Lewis-Hall-Gordon-Newcastle
For the first time in any competitive game this season, Isak lost 100% of his duels (minimum five contested), failed to register a single shot on target, failed to generate any ‘big chances’, and had under 30 touches in more than 45 minutes.
He played the opening 77 minutes of the match and did not have any significant contribution to the match in or out of possession for the Magpies.
Vs Brentford
Alexander Isak
Minutes
77
Shots on target
0
Passes completed
12
Big chances created
0
Duels won
0/6
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Isak was dominated by the Brentford defenders, who outmuscled him out of the game, and did not register a shot on target or create a ‘big chance’ for his team.
The 25-year-old sensation, who has produced seven goals and four assists in 14 outings in the Premier League this season, simply had an off night and struggled to work his way into the match – in what was his worst performance of the campaign.
Howe, though, will be pleased that his team could still score three goals and secure a place in the semi-final of the League Cup without his star striker at the peak of his powers, as it shows the quality depth to his side.
Dan Burn and Eddie Howe for Newcastle
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It shows the strength of the Newcastle team that a player like Tonali can step up from midfield to score two goals to save the day when Isak is not at his best.
