Newcastle United signed Sandro Tonali for £70 million from Milan last summer in a massive transfer move. Further, Tonali even scored on his Magpies debut as Newcastle United took a big 5-1 win over Aston Villa in the opening Premier League match last season. However, after making twelve appearances for the Tyneside outfit, Tonali was sidelined for ten months from playing football due to off field issues.
Now, this Carabao Cup match against Nottingham Forest was going to be the comeback game for Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali. Speaking before the match, Tonali thanked Newcastle United and the fans for supporting him as he makes his return, saying,
"I had constant support from everyone, from the coach and everyone else in the team. There isn’t a single person who didn’t show me their support. I’m excited because I think I’m a new player, a new transfer. A big thank you again to the fans. I don’t think in another place there are these fans with one player. I think this every day."Sandro Tonali
Sandro Tonali brilliant on his Newcastle United comeback
Tonali started the match as the defensive midfielder alongside Joelinton and Joe Willock in the midfield. Eddie Howe's side got off to a good start as a nice build up play from Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak created the first big chance of the match, which Joe Willock scored to provide the 1-0 lead to the Magpies inside 20 seconds in the match. Newcastle United created more chances as they build upon their early momentum and a few minutes later, Tonali came very close to making it 2-0 on his Newcastle return.
The Italian holding midfielder played around an hour in this fixture and had a decent game overall. His defending was good, but struggled with pace a few times in the match. Tonali needs a few matches to come into his top form, but his comeback performance was encouraging. Like Tonali said, he feels like a new signing is true, also because the Magpies haven't made any big signing in this summer transfer window.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United won the match on penalties and have advanced further to the third round in the Carabao Cup. In the first two matches in the Premier League, Eddie Howe's side have struggled to win more ball possession, but with the comeback of Tonali, the Magpies will improve their performance in this season.