Newcastle United He booked his place in the semi-finals of the tournament League Cup With a convincing 3-1 win over Brentford at St James' Park on Wednesday evening.
The Magpies will now wait to see who they play over two January semi-final matches, hoping to return to Wembley for the first time since 2023.
Sandro Tonali scored two goals in the first half, giving the hosts the lead in the second half, before Fabien Schar confirmed the result by finishing the second half from close range, while Yoani Wessa scored a single goal in stoppage time.
The highlight of the evening, of course, was Newcastle's number eight's performance in the middle of the park, where the Italian stole the show.
Sandro Tonali's match-winning performance
It was the Italy international who set the stage for the match at St James' Park with a powerful strike from distance in the ninth minute to make it 1-0, beating Mark Let it be with a low shot.
The former Milan star added his and Newcastle's second goal in the game just before half-time, the midfielder receiving a corner kick from Anthony Gordon to beat the Brentford keeper at his near post.
Tonali's brace wasn't the only impressive aspect of his performance, as the central midfielder complemented that as well 93% (56/60) of his pass attemptsTo help the magpies control the game.
The Italian Dynamo also won Six of his 11 Ground duels, where he completed four tackles to recover the ball for Newcastle, showing that he provided quality on and off the ball.
Performance in numbers
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Thank God for Tonali's tremendous performance in midfield Eddie Howe Saved by Alexander Ishak, who did not enjoy his best night at St James' Park against the Bees.
Alexander Isak's performance by the numbers
The Sweden international played arguably his worst game of the season on Wednesday evening, but it didn't matter in the end due to the Italian international's magical display.
For the first time In any competitive match this season, Isak lost 100% of his duels (minimum five), failed to register a shot on target, failed to create any 'big chances', and did not touch the ball more than 30 times in more than 45 minutes.
He played the first 77 minutes of the game and had no significant contribution to the game in or out of possession for the Magpies.
|
Against Brentford |
Alexander Isaac |
|---|---|
|
minutes |
77 |
|
Shots on goal |
0 |
|
Passes completed |
12 |
|
It created great opportunities |
0 |
|
Duels won |
0/6 |
As you can see in the table above, Isak was dominated by Brentford's defenders, who outmaneuvered him, and he did not register a shot on target or create a 'big chance' for his team.
The 25-year-old sensation, who has He made seven goals With four assists in 14 Premier League appearances this season, he had a poor night and struggled to find his way into the game – his worst performance of the season.
However, Howe will be pleased that his side were still able to score three goals and secure a place in the League Cup semi-finals without their star striker at the peak of his abilities, as it shows the depth of quality his team has.
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It shows the strength of the Newcastle side that a player like Tonali can step forward from midfield to score a brace to save the day when Isak is not at his best.