Sandro Tonali (left) and Newcastle United manager Eddie Howeplaceholder image
Sandro Tonali (left) and Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe | Getty Images
Sandro Tonali was back to his magical best as his brace helped Newcastle United put Aston Villa to the sword.
Sandro Tonali has insisted his relationship with Eddie Howe is “perfect” after firing Newcastle United into the FA Cup fifth round.
The Italian bagged a superb brace from distance to step up for the Magpies in absence of Bruno Guimaraes. There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Tonali’s future in recent weeks - with his agent claiming he will sit down with Toon chiefs to discuss options.
In truth, Tonali’s form had nosedived but he was best to his dominating best against Aston Villa. The midfielder toasted his two goals by celebrating with Howe and paid tribute to the Newcastle boss at the full-time whistle.
‘Our relationship is perfect’ - Sandro Tonali
“After the second goal, I came to Eddie because in the past week, people spoke a lot about our relationship,” Tonali told NUFC TV. “I work every day with the gaffer, the gaffer works every day with me. Our relationship is perfect - it is not broken. We try to do the best for this team.”
Sandro Tonali honours Nick Woltemade
Tonali also paid tribute to Nick Woltemade - who played in a deeper midfield role - after he broke his 14-game goal drought. He added: “For me, it’s my first two goals of the season. Every time you score, your day is different. I’m happy because I tried to score for the last two months.
“The first thing that is (almost) most important is the team. I’m pleased especially for Nick (Woltemade) because he played in midfield and did very well. It was tough for him - totally different - and he scored the last goal.
“I’m happy for him. I’m happy for every player, for the staff, for the fans. They came here, it was an amazing game and we played very well. I think this game is so important because we want to come back to Wembley.”
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Eddie Howe sends Sandro Tonali message
Speaking on Tonali, Howe told reporters: “I think the only way Sandro can answer any question on his performance is on the pitch, and today he responded really well.
“We needed players to step up in Bruno's absence, we needed the creativity gap that Bruno will leave filled, we needed the passion that Bruno shows on the pitch filled and I thought all three midfielders did that.
“Sandro's got two goals, Nick's got a goal, so our midfield contributed massively and I'm really pleased with everybody, we're going to need that in his absence throughout the time that he's out.”
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