Newcastle inch closer to ending seven-decade trophy drought as Tonali downs Brentford

Sandro Tonali’s double helped Newcastle secure their spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Brentford.

Tonali put the Magpies ahead with a brilliant first-time strike and the Italy midfielder bagged his brace just before half-time from Anthony Gordon’s corner.

Fabian Schar extended the lead after the break with a tidy tap-in before Yoane Wissa earned a consolation for the Bees in added time.

Victory sends Newcastle one step closer to ending their 69-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

Eddie Howe named an unchanged side from Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing of Leicester and Newcastle showed their attacking intent from the off when Bruno Guimaraes’ header was cleared and Joelinton had a shot blocked.

Early pressure paid off for the Magpies, who took the lead nine minutes in when Tino Livramento’s menacing low pass was cleared as far as the edge of the box and Tonali blasted the ball into the bottom corner with a first-time strike.

Brentford nearly had an instant response when Wissa was played through on goal, but Martin Dubravka was able to claw the ball away before a penalty appeal was waved away after Wissa went down.

Having already made a late change to the starting line-up with Nathan Collins replacing Sepp van den Berg, the Bees were handed another defensive blow 14 minutes into the game when Ethan Pinnock was unable to continue and Mads Roerslev came on.

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The visitors grew into the game but struggled to make use of their possession and break forward and, after a quiet period, Newcastle suddenly struck again two minutes before half-time.

An injection of energy into the match saw Gordon float a corner into Tonali, who wandered into the box unmarked and hooked the ball home with another first-time effort to earn his second goal.

Mark Flekken was then called into action moments later with a diving save to hold Joelinton’s header and Brentford were awarded a free-kick at the other end, which Keane Lewis-Potter smashed over the bar.

A frenetic finale to the first half then saw Jacob Murphy’s powerful effort smash off the post.

Wissa had two chances for Brentford straight after the break, including an audacious overhead kick which flew over the bar.

However, Newcastle took control of the game and a promising break saw Gordon’s low shot flash wide of the upright.

The Bees were handed another scare when Guimaraes hit a tidy backheel to tee up Murphy, who smashed the ball past the post.

A good move from the visitors saw Lewis-Potter test Dubravka from a tight angle with a low shot and Newcastle charged up the pitch from the resulting corner, where Flekken held Joe Willock’s strike.

The Magpies found their third in the 69th minute when Brentford were unable to clear their lines from a corner and, after shots from Tonali and Lewis Hall were blocked, Guimaraes squared the ball for Schar to tap home from close range.

Newcastle rattled the post again through Harvey Barnes’ low strike and the Bees had a great chance in in the 85th minute when Ben Mee’s header flew wide before Dubravka blocked Wissa’s shot in a one-on-one.

The Brentford forward then pulled one back in the first minute of added time, tucking the ball past Dubravka into the bottom corner.