The Magpies defeated Brentford 3-1 at St James’ Park with Tonali at the double in the first-half. The midfielder opened the scoring in the ninth minute before scoring another on the brink of half-time.
Fabian Schar then added a third in the 69th minute to make it a very comfortable evening for Eddie Howe’s men, despite Yoane Wissa’s netting a consolation goal in added time.
Newcastle will learn their semi-final opponents when the draw is made after Tottenham Hotspur versus Manchester United on Thursday night. Last four matches will take place over two legs across the week commencing January 6 and February 3.
Howe named an unchanged starting XI from Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Leicester City. The only change was on the bench with Lewis Miley recalled in place of the suspended Sean Longstaff.
Brentford, meanwhile, made four changes with Kristoffer Ajer, Ben Mee, Vitaly Janelt, Fabio Carvalho and Kevin Schade coming in for Mads Roerslev, Mikkel Damsgaard, Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard.
The Magpies started well and needed just nine minutes to take the lead when Nathan Collins’ clearance fell into the path of Tonali, who drilled his shot home from outside the box. It was the Italian’s second goal for United, his first since the opening day of the 2022-23 season.
Tonali then scored his second of the night when he ghosted into the box to volley home Lewis Hall’s in-swinging corner on the brink of half-time.
United’s third goal came into the 69th minute when goalkeeper Mark Flekken parried Hall’s shot into the path of Bruno Guimaraes, who picked out Schar two yards out.
However, Schar and his teammates were unable to keep a clean sheet when Wissa converted Mbeumo’s cross late on.
Our writer Jordan Cronin was at St James’ Park - and here are his Newcastle United player ratings:
1. Newcastle United player ratings vs Brentford
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2. Martin Dubravka - 7
Barely had a save to make since returning in between the sticks, though came up with a good one late on. Has made big improvements with his distribution, typified by an excellent ping to Alexander Isak in the first-half. | Getty Images
3. Tino Livramento - 6
Pushed forward well and helped create Tonali’s opener when his cross was cleared by Nathan Collins into the Italian’s path. Didn’t stop the cross that led to Yoane Wissa’s late goal. | Getty Images
4. Fabian Schar - 7
Grew into the game after a sloppy start. Played a ball straight out of play in the opening stages before being booked for a late tackle on Fabio Carvalho. Added a third goal with the easiest of finishes. | Getty Images