Newcastle United secured their first win of the season against Wolves on Saturday, with Nick Woltemade scoring on his debut.
As far as afternoons go, they will not get much better than that for the German, whose leaping header was enough to secure all three points for his new club.
Newcastle United were not at their best by any means, but performances from the likes of Nick Woltemade can give fans confidence that they can push on after their first win of the season.
After his debut goal, it was clear that Woltemade was going to steal the headlines. Alan Shearer praised Woltemade’s ‘dream’ debut, while Bruno Guimaraes congratulated him for the goal.
While Woltemade’s performance is the one fans will be talking about, Eddie Howe will be buzzing with the showing of another Newcastle star, who seems to impress more and more each week.
Sandro Tonali tussles for the ball during a Premier League game between Newcastle United and Wolves.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Sandro Tonali’s performance for Newcastle United was overshadowed by Nick Woltemade’s debut
Once again, Sandro Tonali has quietly put in a sensational performance for Newcastle at St James’ Park. The Italian played his part in two memorable performances for his country during the international break, which included a late winning goal in a 5-4 thriller against Israel.
It takes a superhuman to be able to play a full 90 minutes after that, but Tonali did it with ease.
Playing as a box-to-box midfielder, Tonali continues to wow fans with his performances, and Wolves were no exception. With 69 touches of the ball, Tonali was absolutely everywhere, whether it was joining the attack or helping out in defence, he was more than happy to chip in.
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Tonali can also take some credit for Newcastle’s goal, as he played the ball to Jacob Murphy, who then crossed to Woltemade.
Statistics vs Wolves Sandro Tonali
Minutes 90
Accurate passes 40/51 (78%)
Touces 69
Shots on target 2/3 (67%)
Ground duels won 6/9 (67%)
Passes into final third 9
Stats from Fotmob
Sometimes, you cannot help but sit and wonder how Newcastle have signed a player like Tonali. There was a lot of hype when he joined in 2023, and deservedly so. With all his personal issues behind him, Tonali is letting his football do the talking, and it is working a treat.
Eddie Howe had high praise for Sandro Tonali after Newcastle United’s win against Wolves
Tonali will no doubt be in the starting XI for the Champions League opener against Barcelona on Thursday in front of a St James’ Park crowd who dreamed of games as big as this before the takeover.
Newcastle are in a position where they have three quality midfielders who will back themselves against any team in the world, even the best teams like Barcelona.
Howe signed a top player in Tonali, and he made sure everyone knew that with his post-match verdict on the 25-year-old.
“I think he covered every blade today,” he told the press.
“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.
“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, he nearly scored a great goal for us today so I thought it was a great performance.”