Newcastle United booked their place in a second League Cup semi-final in three years on Wednesday evening with a convincing 3-1 win over Brentford at St. James’ Park.
A first half brace from Sandro Tonali set the tone on an almost perfect evening for the Italian, with Fabian Schar adding a cute third goal in the second half before a late Yoane Wissa consolation goal slightly blotted United’s copybook.
Here are our five key takeaways from the game:
- £55m man runs the show and ‘shh’s’ Juventus rumours
His day started with media reports linking him with a move to Juventus and it ended with a heart gesture to the Leazes End in what was his best display in Black and White so far. Sometimes, when you spend £55m on a midfielder, you expect that midfielder to occasionally win a game of football or two on his own – well that was exactly what Tonali did on Wednesday night.
Playing as the deepest of the three midfielders Tonali ran the show, orchestrating the press, marshalling the passing shapes, organising the defensive shape and making the lung-busting recovery runs when Joelinton and Bruno were bypassed. It was a display reminiscent of when Tonali dragged Milan to the Scudetto.
Eddie Howe beamed about the Italian after the game saying: ‘Nights like tonight will build connections with him and the supporters even stronger, I’m just really pleased for him on a personal level. It was great to see Sandro score the two that he did. We are starting to see the best of him.’
Well, and whisper it quietly, there’s still plenty of levels for Tonali to find as he truly has the ability to be one of the best in the world in his position. He was simply breathtaking on Wednesday night.
2. Balance
For the first time this season, United dispatched ‘inferior’ opposition routinely in back-to-back home games as they start to banish the spectre of supposedly only turning up in the big games. Both performances within five days owe a lot to the balance of Tonali sitting deep, allowing Bruno and Joelinton to move further forward and wingers Murphy and Gordon playing on their preferred sides.
Team balance has been difficult for Howe to find this season, but it seems that some dispensed home truth’s following the poor performances at Palace and Brentford, coupled with a return to the simplicity of playing players where they’re best suited, has seen United defeat two sides rather easily at SJP who, perhaps, could’ve presented banana skins on another day.
Bill Shankly famously said: ‘football is a simple game, complicated by idiots,’ well, hopefully the idiots have been banished at United as simple balance, playing your best players, heart and endeavour, have seen the lads come up trumps in games they would’ve struggled in just ten days ago.
3. Two suspension blows
The only blemish on and otherwise brilliant night was two yellow cards that leave us light in two key positions ahead of the semi-final first leg next month.
Bookings for Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar mean the pair will miss the first leg of our semi-final next month, where we’ll face one of Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs/Man Utd.
Sven Botman is due back either at the end of this month or the start of January, so he *might* be able to fill in for Schar. In midfield, we can expect one of Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff or Lewis Miley to fill in for Bruno; who has been influential in an slightly more advanced role recently with three assists and a goal in our last four.
4. Lewis Hall – what a player!
If this lad continues to play like he is Real Madrid et al will come sniffing in the summer, mark my words. He is a statistical freak: runs from deep, progressive passes, key passes, touches, tackles and interceptions – he is in the top two in literally every game over the last month, with his last two performances head and shoulders above anyone else in the team (Sandro aside on Wednesday).
Get the lad signed up on a big ten-year deal ASAP, sure he still has work to do defensively as teams still target his side of the pitch, but on the ball, he is developing at a frightening pace. Eddie Howe may have just played a development blinder with the lad too as he no longer cramps up with 20 minutes to go in every game or runs out of steam either.
5. At this point you have to beat somebody
Eddie Howe has become the first Newcastle manager since Sir Bobby Robson to reach two semi-finals, and the first since Stan Seymour, in the 1950s, to do it in two domestic competitions. And as Tyneside, and beyond, waits with bated breath for the end of the Spurs vs Man Utd game on Thursday and the semi-final draw, the serious business is about to begin for Eddie, the club and the fans.
One of either Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Utd or Spurs will be our opposition in the two-legged semi-finals in January and February and this time around if United are to win the trophy outright they will have to beat two high level opposition back-to-back to do so.
Honestly, at this point in the competition, bring anybody on as I think we’ll give anyone a game, especially as St. James’. Eventually it will be our year, and why can’t it be this year?
6. Phase 3 on Saturday
Two wins out of two following the shambles of Brentford away and United have an opportunity to make it three out of three with a win over Ipswich on Saturday afternoon.
I learnt from an Ipswich supporting uncle during the game that Liam Delap is suspended for Saturday too in what is a huge boost for United.
The lads have really ‘rolled up their sleeves’ over the past two games and have brought a lot of fans back onside with determined performances which have brought about two deserved results.
With Bobby Robson looking down, a win on Saturday will really set us up for a fantastic second half of the season, as we bring the noise, passion, feeling of belonging and pride in our city to Suffolk on Saturday.
HWTL
