Tottenham’s £100million midfielder Sandro Tonali endured a nightmare competitive home debut after he was involved in both goals in a 2-0 defeat to old club Newcastle.
Italy international Tonali left the North East outfit in July after an eventful three years to link up with compatriot Roberto De Zerbi in London, but let Anthony Elanga get away from him for a 62nd-minute opener before he inadvertently played Yoane Wissa onside for the Magpies’ second.
When De Zerbi brought off Tonali three minutes later with 75 minutes on the clock, the noisy Newcastle away fans cheered wildly before they belted out more songs about their former midfield maestro.
Only three minutes had been played when Tonali, who was booed by the away section after every touch, left Spurs captain Micky van de Ven short with a poor pass and the centre-back subsequently hacked down Wissa to earn a caution.
It was a sign of things to come for Tonali, who was called a “greedy b******” in the 11th minute by the Magpies faithful, and although his scuffed shot created a chance for Pedro Porro soon after, it was Newcastle’s £52m debutant Nico Gonzalez who was running the midfield.
A wonderful crossfield pass by Gonzalez inspired the opener after Amar Dedic headed down for Elanga, who got away from Tonali too easily and fired beyond Anthony Kinsky via the post.
A chorus of “Sandro, what’s the score?” followed before Tonali played Wissa onside in the 72n -minute and was taken off soon after to bring a poor first competitive appearance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to an end.
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