When sluggish Newcastle United needed a moment of magic, Miguel Almiron duly stepped up to fire his side to a 1-0 victory against Everton. Almiron has scored some special goals for Newcastle, but the Paraguay international's superb strike at St James' Park on Wednesday night was right up there as Eddie Howe's side maintained their push for a place in Europe - despite not being at their very best.
It was one of those goals that is hard to do justice. The chance did not necessarily even look to be on when Bruno Guimaraes slipped the ball to Almiron on the edge of the area in the 31st minute. However, Almiron is a player full of confidence right now and, without even looking up, the forward lifted the ball into the net with a stunning first-time finish to leave even some Newcastle supporters speechless. Almiron does not tend to do tap-ins and this was yet another goal of the month contender to add to an ever-growing list.
With Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak sidelined, Newcastle have needed others to step up and Almiron has certainly done that as the club's leading scorer this season with five goals. To put that haul into perspective, Almiron has scored five times as many goals as he did in the whole of last season.
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Almiron was already a popular figure with Newcastle fans but, after adding goals to his game, the 28-year-old is simply undroppable in this sort of form. Was it any wonder Almiron left the field to a standing ovation when the smiling assassin came off in the 73rd minute?
How apt that Almiron delivered once more on a night where Anthony Gordon, a former Newcastle target, was on the opposite side. Gordon could have been lining up alongside Kieran Trippier on the right flank but, instead, the pair ended up squaring up during a feisty encounter under the lights.
Gordon had gone down softly inside the box following a challenge by Dan Burn just before half-time and Trippier rushed over to let the Everton star know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not impressed. Gordon then charged towards Trippier and the duo went head to head before Fabian Schar stepped in and repeatedly pushed the youngster away. Soon 17 players from both sides were on the scene as Nick Pope, Bruno Guimaraes and Amadou Onana were all shoved.
The melee summed up the niggly nature of the contest and, also, the fighting spirit Newcastle needed in a game like this. Even Trippier and Jordan Pickford, who are international team-mates with England, momentarily put their friendship aside as they argued down the tunnel at the break.
Newcastle certainly had to show that gritty side against a physical Everton outfit, who had an extra day to prepare, and the solid Magpies managed to prevent the visitors having a single shot on target - even as the hosts tired in the second half. No other side have now kept more clean sheets in the Premier League (five) or conceded fewer goals (nine) than Newcastle. You can see why Nick Pope declared it was a 'joy' to play in this team.
Once upon a time, Newcastle might have crumbled but, with the meanest defence in the league, the hosts managed to see the game out as supporters carried the players over the line with repeated chants of 'Eddie Howe's black and white army', 'E-I-E-I-E-I-O Up the Premier League we go' and 'Stand up if you love the Toon'. Frank Lampard was the first to admit post-match that 'you just have to respect that they're in a different phase' before the Everton boss added that Howe's side are 'going to give everyone a tough game when they come here for sure'.
Newcastle are still riding high in sixth and this week will give the black-and-whites just a little taste of what life at the top would be like. It is rare Newcastle play three games in a week but, as strange as it sounds, players, staff and supporters alike will hope that becomes a regular occurrence in the coming years. That is what teams competing in Europe do, after all.
While Newcastle are not quite there yet, demanding fixtures against Manchester United, Everton and Spurs were always going to be a good gauge of where they are more than a quarter of the way through the season.
Howe's players emptied the tank at Old Trafford three days previously - Schar could barely walk before coming off following a particularly committed display at the weekend - but the Newcastle boss surprisingly named an unchanged side. Perhaps, that showed not only how settled this side is but, also, how important this game was with few fully fit alternatives in some positions.
Everton may have improved a lot themselves - losing just two games since August - but breaking Newcastle down as well as keeping the hosts out was going to be a challenge for the visitors, particularly in an atmosphere like this as Pickford can testify. Everyone in the stadium knew what was going to happen when Pickford had his first touch, but the former Sunderland goalkeeper was even mercilessly booed when he made his way to his goal in front of the Leazes End before kick-off. There was an edge to this game from the off and it quickly became a scrappy contest.
Newcastle did send an early warning with just eight minutes on the clock when Jacob Murphy cut inside from the left flank and unleashed a dipping effort from 25 yards, but the winger's shot went just over the bar. However, Everton soon settled, frustrating the crowd with how they broke the game up, and Newcastle looked a little flat.
Far from being spoilers, Everton had a decent chance of their own midway through the first half, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed over from Demarai Gray's corner. Sluggish Newcastle looked in need of a moment of inspiration and the Magpies soon had it.
Few could have imagined what was about to unfold when Bruno Guimaraes slipped the ball to Miguel Almiron on the edge of the box in the 31st minute. However, Almiron did and the forward did not even have to look up as he expertly guided the ball into the top corner with a superb first-time finish.
Newcastle had lift-off. Just a few minutes later, Pickford kept Schar's header out from Murphy's cross before Bruno then fired narrowly wide in the 37th minute.
It was all one-way traffic and Newcastle could and should have doubled their advantage before the break. Burn even went close in the 42nd minute, but the towering defender headed wide from Trippier's corner.
Given how Newcastle were only a goal ahead at half-time, Everton were far from out of this. The Toffees sent a timely reminder of that in the 46th minute when Gray skipped past Trippier and whipped a dangerous ball into the box, but there was no one there to knock it in. Then, just a couple minutes later, Calvert-Lewin forced Pope into a save one-on-one, but the striker was then flagged offside.
It should have been a wake-up call for Newcastle and Almiron once again attempted to take the game by the scruff of the neck in the 54th minute. Wilson threaded a ball through to Almiron and the forward cut inside and tried to whip the ball into the top corner, but it whistled just over.
By that stage, Everton looked the fresher of the two sides as tired Newcastle dropped off a little and Howe soon turned to his bench. Having thrown Joe Willock on for the injured Joelinton at half-time, Howe brought on both Elliot Anderson and Ryan Fraser for the final quarter as Murphy and Almiron made way.
That gave Newcastle a timely injection of energy and, far from going into survival mode, the hosts had chances to finish the game off. Trippier's free-kick was flicked just wide by Willock in the 77th minute and, then, Schar's header was claimed by Pickford just a few minutes later.
There were some groans from Newcastle supporters as six minutes of stoppage time were added on, but they need not have worried. They were soon cheering at the final whistle.
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