Miracle man Miguel repays Howe’s faith
The transformation of Joelinton has quite rightly taken top billing but Miguel Almiron cannot be far behind in the list of minor footballing miracles performed by eddie howe.
Almiron found himself branded a figure of fun at the end of last season, when Jack Grealish took time out of Manchester City’s title celebrations to claim Riyad Mahrez had been playing like Newcastle’s Paraguayan forward.
No end product. That was the general theme of the accusation. The Grealish clip went viral and everyone had a chuckle at Almiron’s expense.
No one is laughing now. At least, no one at Tottenham, as Almiron converted his fifth goal in as many Premier League appearances.
There were two in a 4-1 win at Fulham on October 1, a result that looks even better based on Fulham’s form since, one of five against Brentford and a screamer, the only goal of the game against everton.
Then this beauty at Spurs, a wonderful solo goal with hints of Mohamed Salah as Almiron collected the loose ball from a header won by Sean Longstaff, held off a challenge by Ryan Sessegnon and accelerated into the box.
Clement Lenglet froze as Almiron shimmied towards him and glided past the French centre half on the outside before producing a cool finish, slid under the body of hugo Lloris from a tight angle as the keeper dashed from his line.
It established a 2-0 lead for the visitors and, ultimately, proved to be the winner as Newcastle resisted Tottenham’s fightback, ending a run of eight league wins at home by Antonio Conte’s side.
‘Last year, he played equally well,’ said boss howe. ‘ Maybe he didn’t get the goals his performances deserved and if you’re not scoring as an attacking player, people don’t speak about you so much.
‘ This season he’s picked up where he left off and added goals. Some spectacular goals like the one in the week (against everton) and some scrappy goals like the tap-in against Fulham. It’s great he’s getting into goalscoring areas, he’s playing with confidence and he’s a very important member of the team.’
As for Almiron’s industry, it has proved contagious and Newcastle’s work off the ball was exemplary at Tottenham.
Central to Joelinton’s reinvention is his determination and willingness to follow orders and play where required. here, the big Brazilian was wide on the left, tracking back tirelessly, most notably to curtail a dangerous counter-attack led by Rodrigo Bentancur in the second half.
At Newcastle, the commitment to the cause underpins everything they are achieving, although howe confessed he did not realise Bruno Guimaraes had been so sleep deprived after the birth of his first child, son Matteo, last week.
‘It’s been like a dream,’ said Guimaraes. ‘I’ve had two days without sleep. I would stay at home but I love to be here with these guys. They make me happy.’