Tonali close to his best – again

Newcastle United’s FA Cup fourth-round triumph at Aston Villa was less a single storyline than a convergence of them: cup romance, contentious officiating, a potential seasonal pivot, and, most strikingly, the re-awakening of Sandro Tonali. The Italy midfielder delivered two emphatic finishes to propel the Magpies into the last-16 and, in the process, offered the clearest evidence yet that he is approaching peak form.

Manager Eddie Howe’s side arrived at Villa Park without Bruno Guimarães, sidelined for eight weeks, and having taken no points from Villa in two previous league meetings this term. Those obstacles dissolved beneath Tonali’s brilliance. His first goal, a driven effort from outside the box, took a slight deflection yet retained its deserved gloss, coming shortly after Newcastle were denied what players and staff felt was an obvious penalty. The second, however, was untouched by fortune: a blistering strike that carved a path through four outfield defenders and goalkeeper Emi Martínez, the kind of hit that lives eternally in cup folklore.

The contribution of Nick Woltemade should not be overlooked. The young forward’s cool chip sealed a 3–1 victory and earned him a solo ovation from the travelling support, a moment that followed Tonali’s own curtain-call. Such post-match acknowledgements, first afforded to Howe after the mid-week win at Tottenham, underline a squad growing in cohesion and confidence.

That unity will be tested immediately: Newcastle now face a 6,500-mile round trip to Azerbaijan for a Europa League play-off before visiting Manchester City in the Premier League. Yet the mood on Tyneside is buoyant; victories in knockout competition have a way of making supporters “feel floaty and poetic,” and the belief is that a corner may finally have been turned.

Sandro Tonali, once again, stands at the heart of that optimism.