Newcastle advance in Carabao Cup, Tonali returns from betting ban

Newcastle advance in Carabao Cup, Tonali returns from betting ban

Newcastle United scored a goal in 19 seconds and then won a penalty shootout against Nottingham Forest to progress in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, a match that saw Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali make his comeback after a 10-month ban.

Tonali was involved in the build-up to Newcastle’s extremely early goal through Joe Willock at the City Ground, playing 62 minutes before being substituted, by which time Forest had already equalised through Jota Silva.

The second round match ended 1-1 in normal time and went straight to penalties, with Newcastle overcoming a deficit to win 4-3 for Forest after missed shots from Ibrahim Sangare and Taiwo Awoniyi, with Sean Longstaff converting the decisive penalty.

Tonali moved to Newcastle from AC Milan in the 2023 off-season, but only made 12 appearances before being handed a lengthy ban by the Italian Football Federation in October for betting on Milan and another Italian club, Brescia, while playing for those teams.

An independent regulatory commission also imposed an additional two-month ban on Tonali, suspended until the end of this season.

In another Premier League clash, Jarrod Bowen inadvertently scored a controversial goal in the 88th minute to give West Ham a 1-0 home win over Bournemouth.

A shot from Mohammed Kudus appeared to deflect off Bowen’s arm. The goal was awarded and, with no video reviews at this stage of the competition, there was no chance of it being disallowed – much to the annoyance of Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola, who complained to the fourth official in the technical area.

The only surprise of the evening – and indeed of the entire second round – was the elimination of first division side Ipswich against fourth division side AFC Wimbledon, who won 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Southampton needed stoppage-time goals from James Bree and Cameron Archer to beat second division Cardiff 5-3 in a wild game, while Wolverhampton beat second division Burnley 2-0 thanks to goals from Gonçalo Guedes. Brentford won 1-0 away against fourth division Colchester.

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