They may have picked up the three points at Turf Moor, but Newcastle United have one big problem that needs resolving when it comes to one player in particular.
Goals from Joelinton, Yoane Wissa, and a Bruno Guimaraes wonder goal were enough to seal the win against Burnley for Newcastle.
If you could voice one concern to Eddie Howe about Newcastle United right now, what would it be?
Yes, I know we won, but let's not pretend that was great 😂
However, the performance was still a concern. Eddie Howe’s side were fortunate to scrape past the relegation threatened Clarets and would have been found out by a stronger team.
At the heart of it all, fans seem to agree that one player was way off his best, and it’s not the first time this season or even this month that that’s been the case.
Newcastle United fans are frustrated with Sandro Tonali
One of the big issues for Newcastle is a lack of control in midfield, and Sandro Tonali has to take the blame for that.
Taking to Twitter/X after the game, one fan said: “I’m worried about Tonali at the minute, he seems really off it.”
Another wrote: “Tonali has been having a stinker for the last ten games.”
Others added, “Time to cash in on Tonali,” and “Let’s hope Tonali wakes up soon.”
In relation to that issue in the middle, the majority of Magpies fans pointed to Tonali as the cause.
“On the ball he was atrocious,” one wrote, while another added, “Passes non-existent. Gives the ball away too much. Doesn’t look the same player.”
Clearly, it’s a problem that’s impacting those around him, too. While Joelinton and Bruno played a key role in the win, fans noticed Tonali letting the side down.
“Tonali is struggling. Bruno does his best every game but needs his partner to do the same,” one supporter claimed.
We need to talk about Sandro Tonali….
What is going on with him?! Can anyone remember when he last had a good game?
Sandro Tonali’s game by numbers
Despite Howe claiming Tonali was not at full fitness earlier this month, he still played the full 90 minutes against Burnley.
His passing should be his strong point, but he only registered an 82% pass success rate, which included seven misplaced passes in the Burnley half. He was successful with his one cross on the night, though.
Tonali had a couple of shots, both of which were blocked. As per Sofascore, of his 71 touches on the night, only two were unsuccessful. But, the Italian did lose possession a whopping 17 times.
Perhaps most worrying of all, Tonali only won two of his six duels against Burnley. He was also dribbled past nine times, though he did make nine recoveries.
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