Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe was full of praise for Sandro Tonali and his defence following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Wolves.
Newcastle United picked up their first win of the new season as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at St James’ Park thanks to a debut goal from Nick Woltemade.
The 23-year-old club-record signing was the big talking point from the match as he headed in Jacob Murphy’s cross just before the half-hour mark.
But once Woltemade went off with cramp midway through the second half, The Magpies had to dig deep to hold out for a much-needed three points heading into a busy run of fixtures.
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NUFC keep another clean sheet
It’s a third clean sheet in four matches to start the new season for Newcastle with Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento being five mainstays at the back this season.
“Really pleased with how we've defended,” said head coach Eddie Howe. “I think even the Liverpool game, we conceded three, but with ten men, I thought we were really good.
“We've had that resilient look about us again. Now, four games doesn't mean anything. It's a long season, we've got a lot of big games ahead, but certainly good signs for us.
“It's not just the defending players, although they should rightly get a lot of credit. It is the team, but the team is functioning very well at the moment.”
Sandro Tonali runs the show in midfield
And one player functioning particularly well and contributing defensively is midfielder Sandro Tonali. Woltemade aside, the Italian was a prime contender for man of the match in the Wolves win, something Howe acknowledged afterwards.
“Yeah, I agree with you,” Howe said. “I think he covered every blade today. He was putting out a lot of fires on transitions for us.
“I think he's done that superbly well. Sometimes it's not necessarily a quality that registers immediately, but the number of times that he reads the game, reads where the ball's going to drop, and he's there first, then you realise it's a massive skill of his. His athleticism, his speed.
“So, defensively, I think he's one of the reasons why we've been so strong. But, of course, then the other side of his game, his use of the ball and his creativity nearly scored a great goal for us today. So, I thought it was a great performance.”
Tonali came close to doubling Newcastle’s lead at the end of the first half as his 25-yard effort came back off the inside of the right post. After a busy international duty with Italy which saw him score a stoppage-time winner in Israel earlier in the week, Tonali was straight back at it at club level to help Newcastle see out the win.
The Italian’s presence will be vital for Newcastle in Thursday’s Champions League opener against Barcelona at St James’ Park.
He is set to start alongside captain Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton in the heart of Newcastle’s midfield as they look to build on an encouraging but ultimately unspectacular win over Wolves.
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