JUST what has Jack Grealish unleashed?
Ever since the Manchester City man’s jibe towards Miguel Almiron during their title celebrations in May, the pocket rocket Paraguayan has proved unstoppable.
Signed from the MLS in 2018, he managed a shocking nine goals in his first 110 games.
The fans have always loved him for his incredible work rate but his end product was consistently hopeless.
Now, with Grealish stuck on one goal for the season, he has raced to five and has bagged four from his last four.
The smiling assassin only seems to deal in tap-ins or worldies – with this winning goal definitely the latter.
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The Toon Army mercilessly mock ex-Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford for supposedly having little arms.
Whenever the Everton keeper rocks up at St James’ Park, you can be sure to find one fan charging around the walkways behind Pickford’s goal dressed in an inflatable T-Rex costume.
And maybe they do have a point, with England’s No 1 getting nowhere near Almiron’s loopy curler from the edge of the box at full stretch.
It was the only moment of real quality in a bitty game few will remember by the end of today.
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But it’s now three straight defeats for Frank Lampard’s Toffees just as they looked to be onto something following a six-game unbeaten run.
Now just one point above the bottom three, it could be another long season for the Merseysiders.
A big plus was Dominic Calvert-Lewin making his first Prem start of the season but the England hopeful was living off scraps and failed to make an impact.
He was hardly helped though with Everton unable to even get close to unlocking the Magpies’ defence.
A pitiful one shot, off target, was their lot.
Newcastle have the tightest back line in the league, conceding just nine goals from their 11 games.
This was their fifth clean sheet, though the back four and keeper Nick Pope will rarely have an easier evening.
It’s just one defeat for Eddie Howe’s Mags, making this their highest points tally at this stage since the 2011-12 campaign.
They finished fifth under Alan Pardew back then, and the way things are going, something similar cannot be ruled out come next May.
As far as calendar years go, 2022 under Howe has been sensational.
They were far from their best here but it’s now 16 wins since New Year, their most since 2013.
Newcastle were unchanged following the goalless draw at Manchester United but the big team news was a first start of the season for Calvert-Lewin after two sub appearances.
The locals predictably tore into Pickford from the word go, booing his every touch, mocking the length of his arms and chanting that he’s ‘just a sad Mackem b*****d’.
There was plenty of needle in the first 30 minutes yet nothing in the way of entertainment.
A spark was desperately needed and Almiron is now the go-to man on Tyneside.
Hanging around at the top of the box, Toon moved it from Jacob Murphy on the left to midfield maestro Bruno Guimaraes 20 yards out.
The Brazilian squared it to him unmarked and the Paraguayan did the rest, whipping it with that red-hot left peg beautifully over a stranded Pickford into the top left corner.
The Geordies sensed blood now and went for the killer blow before the break.
Causing havoc down Everton’s left, marauding right-back Kieran Trippier pulled back perfectly for Bruno but the Brazilian could only skew a great chance wide from 11 yards.
Seven minutes before the break and the midfield maestro had another go but his low 20-yard drive missed by inches.
Calvert-Lewin’s header well over from a corner was the closest the toothless Toffees came before the break.
The second half was stretched from the off as Lampard’s side pressed on, with Calvert-Lewin a danger in behind.
There were always going to be chances at the other end and Almiron fired another curler over Pickford but into the Gallowgate.
Calvert-Lewin’s race was run after 73 minutes, replaced by Neal Maupay.
Not that it had any impact on the visitors, who embarrassingly failed to draw Nick Pope into a single save.
And they were lucky not to be a man down in the closing stages when Anthony Gordon, already on a yellow, snapped into a challenge on Elliot Anderson.
Newcastle looked the likelier to bag the second goal as the night wore on without peppering Pickford.
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There was no late surge from Everton to end another dismal night on the road – they’ve now lost 15 of their past 22 away games.
This was a terrible match all things considered, not that you could tell from the huge grin on Almiron’s face as he lapped it up on the bench after being taken off following another sensational strike.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
