Sandro Tonali’s sensational double gave Newcastle a dramatic 3-1 victory over 10-man Aston Villa, earning them a place in the FA Cup fifth round.
Villa were controversial when Tammy Abraham’s opener was allowed to stand despite VAR not being activated and was clearly offside, but the momentum quickly changed when goalkeeper Marco Bizzotto’s moment of insanity led to a straight red card.
In an attempt to stop Newcastle’s counterattack just before half-time, the goalkeeper jumped off his line and brought down Jacob Murphy with a sliding challenge near the halfway line, leaving referee Chris Kavanagh with little choice while the goal was empty.
Marco Bizzotto fouls Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy, resulting in Aston Villa goalkeeper’s red card
Eddie Howe’s side were already frustrated with Digne avoiding a red card for a dangerous tackle on Murphy after taking the lead and the lack of VAR in the game, but the situation worsened when a handball from the same player was awarded as a free-kick despite there being contact inside the area.
However, the set-piece quickly put an end to any mounting frustration as Tonali’s first shot of the night deflected into the bottom left corner, putting his team level.
With time and numbers on their side, Newcastle moved into the lead with just under 15 minutes remaining, before Tonali scored again with a deadly strike from the same position, before Nick Waltemaid scored his third goal to celebrate his 24th birthday and seal the team’s place in the fifth round.
The Magpies will find out who they will face in the next round on Monday when the draw will take place before Macclesfield play Brentford.
Meanwhile, Villa’s hopes of ending their 30-year wait for a silver medal at the club rest on the Europa League.
