Sandro Tonali snubbed by Premier League as Newcastle United duo receive recognition

Sandro Tonali’s sublime strike against Brentford has not been nominated by the Premier League for its goal of the month competition. Tonali’s hit took the breath away from all in attendance at St James’ Park as he netted from an angle which the stats say had a 0.0xG (expected goals).

It was a simply brilliant strike from the Italian as he added yet another clip to an every growing highlight reel. However, it was seemingly not deemed good enough by the Premier League to include it in its April goal of the month competition.

Maybe the Italian’s comments after the game played a part in that: “Honestly, it was 70% cross and 30% shot,” Tonali admitted to Premier League productions. “It was difficult for the goalkeeper and difficult also for me. Also a little bit of luck.”

To rub salt into the wounds, Jacob Murphy’s strike against Crystal Palace, one eerily similar to his teammates’ effort just a matter of weeks before, has also not been included, despite the winger revealing, unlike Tonali, that he did mean to have a strike at goal. "I did mean it, yeah!” Murphy told Sky Sports.

“When the juice is flowing, you've just got to hit it. The defender's come out so it was going to be hard to get it through him so I thought 'aah, just shoot here'. Lovely.”

Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes nominated for Premier League award

However, it’s not all bad news for the winger as he was nominated for the Premier League’s player of the month award after a sensational April. Murphy, who had been in very good form prior to April, registered four assists and three goals last month as Newcastle won six of their seven matches.

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Murphy has also been joined by fellow Magpies teammate and winger Harvey Barnes in the nominations list for player of the month. Barnes enjoyed a very good April, scoring four and registering three assists during the month.

Those goal contributions included two against Manchester United and a strike against his former club Leicester City at the King Power Stadium. Murphy netted the other two that day as the Magpies blew away the Foxes with a stunning first-half performance.

Fans can vote for their winner on the Premier League website, with voting closing at noon on Monday. Murphy and Barnes face competition from Wolves duo Jorgen Strand Larsen and Rayan Ait-Nouri, Liverpool’s Alexis MacAllister, Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers and Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon for the award.

The last Newcastle United player to be named Premier League player of the month was Alexander Isak back in December. Isak’s stunning form in front of goal at the end of 2024 and at the turn of the year saw him score in nine consecutive league matches, a run which included a goal in every single Premier League appearance he made during December.

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