How Tonali helped Newcastle to the EFL Cup and how the EFL Cup helped Tonali – Football Italia – March 17 latest

Sandro Tonali celebrates on the Wembley pitch after winning the EFL Cup final with Newcastle in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. (Picture @NUFC via X)

Sandro Tonali helped Newcastle United to their first domestic trophy in 70 years with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Wembley on Sunday evening, which was the 24-year-old’s first title win since the Scudetto with Milan in 2021-22. 

Here is how Tonali helped Newcastle to win the EFL Cup, and how the EFL helped Tonali get back on his feet. 

How the EFL Cup helped Tonali 

Tonali has become such a mainstay in the Newcastle starting XI that it is easy to forget his season started in uncertain circumstances. 

Still banned for the beginning of the Premier League season as a result of his 10-month suspension for his involvement in prohibited gambling practices, Tonali had to wait until late August to earn his first piece of competitive action since learning of his ban in October 2023. 

Tonali’s first game back from suspension came in the EFL Cup second round, lining up as a starter and playing the first hour in an eventual win on penalty kicks against Premier League high-flyers Nottingham Forest. 

Aside from the third round fixture against AFC Wimbledon, when Eddie Howe fielded a massively rotated side, Tonali has started in every one of Newcastle’s EFL Cup matches this season, and was only brought off in one of them, in the 87th minute of the semi-final second leg against Arsenal. 

The EFL Cup became a springboard for Tonali to prove his worth to Howe and the rest of the Newcastle squad, helping him earn back his position as a starter in the Premier League. 

How Tonali helped Newcastle to EFL Cup success 

Consistency has been the key for Tonali in the EFL Cup this season. He started in all but one of Newcastle’s games en route to the final, all of which were against Premier League opposition, and never dropped below a rating of 7/10 in reports from the local press. 

Beginning with Nottingham Forest in the second round, Tonali showed glimpses of what he has to offer in what was his first competitive match in close to a year. 

Then came a 2-0 win over Chelsea at St James’s Park in the fourth round: A 7/10 performance from Tonali, which also brought his first assist of the season, in any competition. 

The 3-1 quarter-final victory over Brentford has arguably been Tonali’s highlight of the season so far. Described as a ‘maestro’ midfield performance by the Shields Gazette, the former Milan midfielder was given a rating of 9/10 as a result of his two-goal haul. He was only denied a hat-trick by a last-ditch block late on as well. 

Also a starter in both of the semi-final legs against Arsenal, both of which ended in 2-0 victories for Newcastle, Tonali offered solidity, energy in the midfield and a constantly available passing link which helped tie the rest of the Newcastle side together. 

The same could also be said for the final against Liverpool on Sunday. Though it wasn’t the most polished of performances from either side on the day, Newcastle got the job done against a side expected to walk away with the Premier League title at the end of the campaign. 

What’s next for Tonali? 

Tonali, Newcastle and the Italy national team still have plenty left to play for before the 2024-25 season draws to a close. 

The Premier League is the only competition Newcastle are still involved in after their EFL Cup triumph, but there is still a massively exciting battle for the Champions League positions left to go. 

Newcastle currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League standings, and are just one point behind Chelsea in fourth with a game in hand as a result of the EFL Cup final on Sunday. Winning their game in hand would see the Howe’s side overtake both Manchester City and Chelsea into fourth place. 

An enormous bonus is the fact that the Premier League will almost certainly end the 2024-25 campaign with five Champions League spots for 2025-26, which means that Newcastle could afford to finish fifth and still qualify. 

In the immediate future, though, Tonali will report for international duty with Luciano Spalletti and the rest of the Italy national team squad for the Nations League quarter-finals against Germany in March. 

Beating Germany over the two legs means that Italy will qualify for the Nations League finals in June, which Italy will also host if they beat Germany. That brings another opportunity for Tonali to win his second title of the campaign.