Newcastle 3 Brentford 1: Sandro Tonali’s first-half double sends Toon one step closer to first trophy in nearly 70 YEARS
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SANDRO TONALI finally took centre stage at Newcastle - and you can bet your bottom dollar he has the Toon Army dreaming of silverware. The Magpies, who have not lifted a domestic trophy since 1955, are a step closer after the Italian single-handidly downed Brentford.
![[Newcastle sealed qualification to the Carabao Cup semi-finals]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-newcastle-uniteds-sandro-tonali-958367386.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
And it could prove to be a fairytale finish if the second coming of the Italian Stallion on Tyneside keeps producing nights like this. The midfielder, 24, scored his first goals since his debut in August 2023 and has had to wait since then for a performance as magical as this.
Newcastle forked out £55m to bring Tonali to Tyneside to help them end their long-drought for a cup. That momentum from his brilliant scoring bow quickly evaporated when he was hit with a ten-month betting ban. Now he is back and ready to repay the faith and support from Newcastle and their fans by delivering the Carabao Cup.
Less than ten minutes were on the clock when Tino Liramento’s low cross from the right was cleared to the edge of the area by the Bees backline. But it was met by the charging Tonali, and he drilled home from 20 yards to send St. James’ wild. The party, however, threatened to be pooped big style when Yoane Wissa was picked out by Kevin Schade in the Newcastle box.
The Brentford forward attempted to go round Toon goalie Martin Dubravka, who got a touch to the ball, and threw himself to the ground, but the ref was having none of it and with no VAR play continued. And the nightmare start soon got even worse for Thomas Frank with the Brentford boss now looking set to be without TWO defenders for the festive period.
