Sandro Tonali tells Premier League about Newcastle United frustration - delivers three-word message to fans
Newcastle United 0-2 Aston Villa: Sandro Tonali was involved in a key moment in the match at St James’ Park just 30 seconds in.
Sandro Tonali admitted Newcastle United squandered some ‘great chances’ against Aston Villa at St James’ Park on Sunday.
The Italian had a golden opportunity to give Newcastle the lead inside the opening minute after some good footwork on the edge of the box before seeing his shot saved by Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
The visitors then took the lead through Emiliano Buendia in the first half before Martinez was called into action again to tip away Lewis Miley’s looping header.
Newcastle pushed for an equaliser in the second half but failed to test the goalkeeper again as Ollie Watkins wrapped up the points for Villa late on.
Sandro Tonali admits Newcastle United frustration and delivers message to supporters
Speaking to Premier League Productions after the game, Tonali said: “It’s frustrating that we couldn’t back the PSV game up with a result today. But this is football and we play every three days against top teams.
“We missed some great chances in the first half and against this sort of team we can’t do that. When you lose, it’s normal for the fans to be frustrated.
“But we’re giving everything for the team and the supporters.”
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He added a three-word message to supporters: “Stick with us - we need to just keep going - keep playing our football and we’ll get there.”
With the games coming thick and fast, they’re not getting any easier for Newcastle with Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain next up at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday evening.
A trip to Liverpool in the Premier League follows before Newcastle’s third away trip in the space of a week as they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
Newcastle are already guaranteed progress in the Champions League but are still playing for a top eight finish as they head to PSG. But their chances of reaching a second successive final and retaining the Carabao Cup are slim having been beaten 2-0 by Manchester City at St James’ Park earlier this month.
Newcastle have not scored a goal at the Etihad Stadium under Eddie Howe, let alone won. So they would have to dramatically upset the form book in order to overturn their 2-0 deficit.
Eddie Howe on NUFC’s midfield and Sandro Tonali ‘fine margins’
Newcastle were without captain Bruno Guimaraes for Sunday’s defeat against Villa, with the Brazilian proving to be a big miss in the side.
But head coach Howe pointed to Tonali’s early chance as a vital moment in the game.
"Missed opportunities for us,” Howe said. “Sandro has that chance right at the start of the game and if it goes in it's a different game.
“I thought we were better in the second half than the first. There were chances and moments there without our final ball being of the quality that it normally is. A lot of the crossing was poor.
"We had enough time to recover from our last game. It is a season where we are constantly mentally challenged in respect of playing and recovering. Villa had a very similar schedule to us and just executed the final bit better than us.