Sandro Tonali has reflected on the vital 14-minutes spell at St Mary's that got Newcastle United's season back on track.

The Magpies had slipped behind on the South Coast after an unstoppable Jan Bednarek header with just 10 minutes on the clock. But Newcastle recomposed quickly after the shock opener and Tonali's calmness as the number 6 helped stabilise things for Newcastle.

He could be seen urging Toon players to "calm down" and started to reorganise the shape of the team after the small setback. Eddie Howe singled Tonali out for praise in his post-game Press conference too.

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And in the 24th minute, Newcastle were awarded a spot-kick after Alexander Isak had been clearly fouled in the box before sweeping home the equaliser. That gave United the platform to push on and claim a much-needed victory in Hampshire and keeps them right in the mix for the Champions League places.

But Newcastle did not sink when going behind and while the support levels were excellent all afternoon from the black and white diehards who made the epic 350 mile journey, through weather warnings and train engineering works and at significant cost, they were at their most vocal when the team went 1-0 down. It certainly helped lift the players but Tonali spoke more about the response when slipping behind than he did about his goal that actually sealed the game.

Speaking to the club's TV channel, Tonali said: "After 1-0, it was very, very difficult for five minutes. But we are strong. We are a strong team and know we can do anything together. We had a great reaction."

Tonali looked emotional when he sprinted over to the fans after making it 3-1 but said he got good vibrations from the 3,000 strong Toon Army right from the word go.

Tonali said: "When we went out for the warm-up at Southampton, it was actually like being at St James' Park. This is important for us."