Tonali Doubles As Newcastle Turn The FA Cup Tide After Villa Red Card

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Newcastle United reached the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-1 comeback win at Aston Villa, overturning a deficit against 10 players. Sandro Tonali struck twice from distance, while Nick Woltemade added a late third, after Marco Bizot’s dismissal changed the contest at Villa Park.

The hosts had appeared on course for progress when Tammy Abraham scored in the first half, registering a first goal since rejoining Villa from Besiktas last month. However, Bizot’s red card before the interval altered the balance, and Eddie Howe’s team controlled the game after the break.

The key incident arrived in first-half stoppage time, at a stage when Villa were largely in control. Harvey Barnes lifted a long pass over the defence for Jacob Murphy, who raced clear. Bizot rushed around 40 yards from goal and brought Murphy down with a reckless challenge, leaving the referee little option.

That foul made Bizot the first goalkeeper sent off in the FA Cup proper this season, and the first Aston Villa player dismissed in the competition since Leander Dendoncker against Stevenage in January 2023. Leon Bailey was withdrawn so Emiliano Martinez could come on, and Newcastle began to build pressure against the 10 players.

Earlier, Aston Villa had struck first during a strong opening spell. VAR is not used until the FA Cup fifth round this season, and that absence helped Villa in the 14th minute when Abraham finished from Douglas Luiz’s inventive free-kick, despite appearing marginally offside when the ball was played.

Abraham controlled on the chest and swivelled to beat Aaron Ramsdale, giving Villa an early lead. Bailey then headed wide from a promising position, while Luiz drove a long-range effort over the bar. Newcastle struggled for rhythm until late in the half, when the match temperature rose with several heavy challenges.

FA Cup second-half comeback led by Tonali and Woltemade

After the interval, Newcastle attacked with greater urgency against Martinez and a reshaped Villa defence. The hosts survived an early scare when Lucas Digne appeared fortunate not to concede a penalty for handling Kieran Trippier’s cross, with the referee instead awarding a free-kick just outside the area.

From that set piece, the equaliser arrived in the 63rd minute. Tonali struck from distance, and a deflection wrong-footed Martinez. With Villa tiring, Tonali then drilled a precise low shot into the bottom-left corner with 14 minutes remaining, completing the turnaround and silencing the home crowd.

Woltemade, celebrating a birthday, added a third goal in the 88th minute to seal the result. Pau Torres attempted to clear inside the box but diverted the ball into Woltemade’s path, and the forward reacted quickly, lashing a rising shot into the roof of the net to confirm Newcastle’s progress.

FA Cup data debrief highlights Newcastle shift against Aston Villa

The underlying numbers reflected how decisively the match swung after Bizot’s dismissal. Villa led the expected goals battle 0.72 to 0.29 by half-time. By full-time, Newcastle held the advantage with 1.31 expected goals compared to Villa’s 0.77, underlining the visitors’ second-half dominance.

Tonali’s display also carried a notable statistical landmark. The midfielder became the first Newcastle player to score twice from outside the penalty area in a single match since October 2016, when Mohamed Diame achieved the same feat in an EFL Cup tie against Preston North End.

For Martinez, there was an unwanted pattern in FA Cup fixtures. The Argentina goalkeeper has now conceded multiple goals from outside the box in consecutive appearances in the competition, having also been beaten more than once from distance against Crystal Palace in last season’s semi-finals.

Newcastle’s fightback, built on Tonali’s long-range shooting and control against 10 players, carried Howe’s team into the next FA Cup round, while Villa were left to reflect on a promising start undone by one costly decision from Bizot and a loss of control after the red card.