‘Not very happy’ – Sandro Tonali makes revealing Newcastle United admission despite Champions League win

Newcastle United secured their place in the Champions League Round of 16 with an emphatic 9-3 aggregate victory over Qarabag — but Sandro Tonali admitted he was far from fully satisfied with the performance.

After cruising to a dominant 6-1 win in Baku, Eddie Howe’s side followed it up with a 3-2 triumph at St James’ Park to seal qualification. The Magpies will now face either or in the next round. Despite the convincing scoreline and progression, Tonali insisted there was room for improvement.

Howe made six changes from the team that featured at the Etihad Stadium, with the Italian midfielder surprisingly named in the starting XI. With Bruno Guimaraes absent, Tonali’s influence has become even more crucial — and he quickly justified his inclusion.

The former AC Milan man reacted fastest to a loose ball inside the box to fire home the opener, before Joelinton doubled the lead shortly after to effectively kill off the contest.

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Tonali praised the team’s explosive start but criticised their drop in intensity.

“It was a very great game for the first 10 minutes,” he said. “But I’m not very happy with the second half because we played with the result after scoring nine goals across the tie. We had to give more because these fans deserve 100 per cent for 90 minutes every game.

“For me, the second half was good, but we can do much more. We need to push every minute.”

Tonali was particularly frustrated with conceding, describing Qarabag’s goal as “stupid” and stressing that the team’s priority had been to keep a clean sheet.

“Every time we concede a goal we are not happy. But finally we are happy because we go through in the Champions League — and we deserve it. We worked very hard last season, every day, every weekend, to play in this competition. We deserve everything.”

Newcastle will discover their Round of 16 opponents when the draw takes place on Friday. They will also gain clarity on their potential path through the knockout stages.

The Magpies have already faced both potential opponents this season. Their meeting with opened their European campaign and, until Qarabag’s strike on the night, the Spanish side were the only visiting team to score a Champions League goal at St James’ Park this term.

Meanwhile, found the net twice in a Premier League clash on Tyneside in December. Managed by Enzo Maresca at the time, the Blues came from two goals down to rescue a point in a dramatic encounter.

Newcastle now await the next chapter of their European adventure — but if Tonali has his way, there is still another level for Howe’s side to reach.