Newcastle United have moved within a just a point of the top 10 after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at St James' Park on Wednesday night.
Miguel Almiron stepped up with the only goal of the game in the 32nd minute after finishing brilliantly from Bruno Guimaraes' lofted ball over the top as Newcastle reached the 40-point mark with five games to spare.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
READ MORE: Newcastle United 1 -0 Crystal Palace highlights
Miguel Almiron lights up St James' Park
Miguel Almiron has fond memories of this fixture. The Paraguay international finally scored his first ever goal for Newcastle against Palace way back in December, 2019. Perhaps nothing will ever top that strike, but Almiron's latest goal against the Eagles will certainly run it close.
As good as Bruno Guimaraes' ball over the top was, in the 32nd minute, Almiron still had an awful lot to do as he shook off Tyrick Mitchell and took a composed touch before expertly picking out the top left-hand corner with a stunning finish. It was Almiron's first goal for Newcastle in more than a year and you could see how much it meant to the forward as he whipped off his shirt and jumped into the crowd to celebrate with supporters.
Almiron's future may have looked in jeopardy not so long ago, but the 28-year-old has taken his chance since Ryan Fraser limped off against Wolves and is, literally, fighting for his future - even squaring up to Wilfried Zaha at one point. More than anything, though, Almiron is playing with newfound belief and supporters recognised that as they gave the forward a standing ovation when he was replaced by Joe Willock late on.
Encouragingly, for Eddie Howe, this was the most threatening Almiron and Newcastle had looked from open play for a while after the Magpies' previous reliance on set-pieces. The goalscoring burden has certainly been shared around since Callum Wilson suffered a troublesome calf injury back in December and Newcastle have found a way to win without their number nine, which was not the case in the previous era. In fact, Almiron became the 11th different player to score for Newcastle since Wilson hobbled off against Manchester United nearly four months ago.
No one will relish playing Newcastle at home
It is a mark of how far Newcastle have come that Eddie Howe became the club's first manager since the great Sir Bobby Robson to win six Premier League games in a row at St James' Park. Fittingly, Howe reached that milestone against Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace.
Vieira, after all, will have remembered coming up against Sir Bobby's side in this very stadium as an Arsenal player and not since those days in 2004 has St James' been quite such a fortress. Vieira may have insisted that 'we know how strong they are at home' ahead of Palace's trip to Tyneside, but nothing could have quite prepared his side for what was to come.
It was another special night under the lights at St James' and Wor Flags got the stadium bouncing with another stunning display before kick-off, which included a tribute to Allan Saint-Maximin in the Gallowgate End. Jonjo Shelvey, who listens to Local Hero on the way to games, said on the eve of this game that 'words can't explain it when the fans are firing' and they certainly were on Wednesday night.
The fans helped Newcastle over the line once more during some nervy moments in the second half and, remarkably, Howe has picked up 25 of his 35 points to date at St James' Park.
Bruno Guimaraes steals the show once more
Bruno previously sat out the trip to Spurs earlier this month after a long journey back from South America, where he was on international duty, but it is hard to imagine the influential midfielder coming out of the team anytime soon. There was certainly no danger of Bruno sitting out this game at least following man of the match displays against Leicester City and Wolves.
Bruno may have required treatment for a back issue at half-time last Sunday but, tellingly, it was the Brazil international sprinting 82 yards at the death to win his side the game against Leicester because he was so desperate get all three points. Bruno was fatigued even before that late sprint, but you can see why Howe did not want to take the 24-year-old off. Similarly, despite such a quick turnaround, Bruno will have been one of the first names on the team sheet again on Wednesday night.
There were no goals this time, after that double against Leicester, but Bruno's latest display was another reminder of what the mid-season signing was actually bought for. Howe wanted his side to have 'a little bit more control' and to 'express' themselves with the ball more against Palace and Bruno was central to that. Indeed, it was Bruno who cut Palace open in the 32nd minute with a stunning ball over the top, which Miguel Almiron finished expertly, and you can bet the watching Yasir Al-Rumayyan was impressed.
Palace grew so frustrated with Bruno that, at one point, after shaking off both Wilfried Zaha and Conor Gallagher, the later resorted to hacking the mid-season signing down. It did little to deter Bruno, though, who quickly got back to his feet as the whole stadium chanted his name.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan sees a very different Newcastle
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Newcastle's non-executive chairman, jetted in for this game, his first at St James since Cambridge United inflicted a giant killing in the FA Cup. Clearly, quite a lot has changed since that humiliating defeat' last January when Newcastle were 19th in the league.
Eddie Howe won't admit it until it is mathematically so, but Newcastle are as good as safe after moving 15 points clear of the relegation zone. In fact, rather than looking over their shoulder, the Magpies are now just a point outside the top 10 - which would have been an unimaginable prospect even just a few weeks ago.
There have been occasions in years gone by where Newcastle's form has dipped once safety has been all but assured, but there is still so much riding on these final games of the campaign for these players. Howe even had his side in for a training session on the morning of the game as he continued to push them.
While Howe will want his side to finish as high as possible in the table, which is ample motivation in itself, the squad are also still playing for their futures with just five games left of the season. Having capitulated during their last trip on the road, at Spurs, these players will be desperate to keep this winning run going at Norwich on Saturday.
Owners won't have an easier deal to do this summer
It is easy to see now why Newcastle signed Matt Targett on loan but the Aston Villa loanee's priceless contribution at the death against Leicester City last week perhaps summed up why Howe wanted the left-back, who is as good defensively as he is going forward. Not only did Targett hold off James Justin masterfully and decide against settling for a goal kick and a point at the death last Sunday; the 26-year-old then managed to quickly pick out Joe Willock in the build-up to Bruno Guimaraes' late winner.
Targett looks back to his best after a patchy first half of the season with Villa and the defender hopes to extend his stay at Newcastle. Given how a fee of around £15m has already been agreed between Newcastle and Villa, the Magpies won't have a more straightforward deal to do this summer.
However, although Howe said he was 'very pleased' with Targett ahead of this game, the Newcastle boss stressed there were 'still games to play this season and opinions to be fully formed'. That felt like a reminder to Targett, who has been one of Newcastle's most consistent performers in recent months, that nothing has been decided and those words were yet another incentive for the left-back to continue to impress.
Targett duly did just that against Palace on Wednesday night. As well as handling the tricky Michael Olise, who was substituted in the 40th minute, Targett also carried a threat offensively with his his passes in behind and his set-piece delivery.
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