Sandro Tonali turns power on for Newcastle to light mid-season spark

Decision to move midfielder into deeper position has paid off to reignite hopes of Champions League qualification

Eddie Howe kept flicking switches and pressing buttons but the power refused to do anything more than blink sporadically into life before swiftly fading once more. Newcastle had slipped to 12th in the Premier League and, with José Mourinho said to be on friendly terms with the Saudi Arabian-owned club’s chair, Yasir al-Rumayyan, Howe’s hold on the manager’s job looked to have loosened slightly.

Then Sandro Tonali turned the lights back on and everything changed. A month after Howe decided to deploy the Italy midfielder in a deep-lying No6 role in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Newcastle have risen to fifth. With Champions League qualification suddenly back on the agenda, they travel to Old Trafford for Monday night’s match against Manchester United having scored 11 goals while keeping a trio of clean sheets in their past three league games.

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