Eddie Howe hailed “two great finishes” from Sandro Tonali as Newcastle reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
The Magpies earned a 3-1 triumph over Brentford thanks to the Italian midfielder’s first-half efforts before Fabian Schar wrapped the game up with a 69th-minute tap-in.
Yoane Wissa earned a consolation for the Bees in added time with a low finish past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Tonali opened the scoring with a brilliant first-time strike into the bottom corner before doubling the lead in the 43rd minute from a corner after entering the box unmarked and hooking the ball home with another first-time effort.
Reflecting on the game, Howe said: “I think it’s a good performance, tough game. I think the goals were hugely important. Sandro’s first one is an unbelievable strike and the second one is very difficult to do what he did in that moment.
“Two great finishes from him and I think those early goals really helped us, could’ve been more in the second half but we’re delighted to get through.”
Howe added he was pleased for Tonali as the midfielder continues to make his mark for Newcastle this season following his 10-month ban from football for breaching betting rules, which ended in August.
“I think it’s brilliant to see from my perspective. He’s a big signing and you want your big signings to do well and settle quickly,” Howe added.
“He’s been here a while, but has had very little football. Nights like tonight will build connections with him and the supporters even stronger, I’m just really pleased for him on a personal level.”
Victory sends Newcastle to their second Carabao Cup semi-final under Howe, with their last run coming in the 2022-23 season when the Magpies were beaten by Manchester United in the final.
Howe insisted his side will do their “absolute best” in their two-legged last-four contest, with the prospect of another Wembley showdown on the horizon.
He said: “I think my focus was just on tonight and trying to get through.
“Of course we’ve been able to do that, then you’re looking at the draw and seeing the teams left in.
“It’s going to be a really tough game in the semi-final, but I think for us to be there is the most important thing.
“We’ll take on whoever we get and do our absolute best to try and get through to a second final, that would be an incredible thing.”
Thomas Frank was left frustrated by defensive problems, but admitted his team lost “fair and square”.
Brentford experienced some defensive disruption before the game after they made a late change to the starting line-up, with Nathan Collins replacing Sepp van den Berg.
They were then handed another blow 14 minutes into the game when Ethan Pinnock was unable to continue, and Frank believes his team conceded “three soft goals”.
He said: “We on the day met a better team than us, we lost fair and square over the 90 minutes.
“I think the main bit I’m disappointed with is the defensive side of the game, we gave – in my opinion – three soft goals away that we can’t give away.
“We need to avoid all three and they are definitely avoidable, so that’s the disappointing thing that we couldn’t do that because it gave us a mountain to climb.”