Newcastle Utd’s Sandro Tonali ahead of Milan game: “I will have to put the emotion aside”

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has stated that he would have to put his emotions aside when he takes on his former club Milan tomorrow.

The Magpies will take on Milan at the San Siro tomorrow and have already arrived in the city. Tonali was initially not expected to feature in the game as he had pulled out from the Italy squad last week, but he is expected to start and play for Eddie Howe’s side.

Tonali joined Newcastle from Milan in the summer and the move had come through quite suddenly. The expectattion is that he will be welcomed warmly by the Rossoneri fans tomorrow.

Ahead of the tie, Sky Italia caught up with Tonali and he was asked about the occassion. He said: “I remember all the matches played at San Siro, the emotion is there and I will have to put it aside before the match, it will be difficult.”

The Italy international further stated that football these days can take many by surprise, shedding light on the game. He said: “I should say something different to every fan, this is football today, it gets you by surprise. Tomorrow the fans of both teams will have to enjoy the match, it will be intense and difficult.”

Tonali had met Stefano Pioli at the Milanello during the international break and he was asked about the meeting, with the midfielder responding: “We didn’t talk about football, it was the first meeting after several months, we were pleased to spend 10/15 minutes together as friends.”

Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN