Miguel Almiron has revealed how the "beautiful" goal that won him October 2022's Premier League goal of the month changed his Newcastle career – by starting off a run of form that saw him bag six goals in six games.
The Magpies' forward, who has just penned a new three-and-a-half year contract in the north east, told FourFourTwo that scoring a volley during the 4-1 away win to Fulham gave him the confidence to improve, because of how much he clicked with his team-mate Bruno Guimaraes in the build-up.
Almiron's goal came 33 minutes into the match at Craven Cottage, with Newcastle already 1-0 up, and with Fulham's Nathaniel Chalobah having received his marching orders.
The Paraguayan picked up the ball from Kieran Trippier on the right wing, passed it to Bruno and then darted into the box to meet the midfielder's first time chip.
"It all started before the volley," he explained in an interview with FFT. "The first thing I did was look up for Bruno in the middle to give him the ball, then run into space, which is something we train constantly throughout the week.
"Bruno gave it back to me in the air and, honestly, I wasn’t thinking anything beyond hitting it towards the far post. It was beautiful.
"You can’t imagine the confidence that goal gave me."
Almiron is Newcastle's top scorer in the Premier League so far this season, with 10 goals from 23 games, and he credits the quality of those around him for his new goalscoring prowess.
"When you’ve got players like Bruno by your side, players who are at another level, the game suddenly becomes a lot easier. You begin to commit each other’s movements to memory," he said.
"I’ve still got a lot of things to improve, which I’m trying to do to help the team. It’s a question of confidence, which began with scoring twice against Fulham. I’d felt good before then but the goals hadn’t quite come. It was like a prize for the sacrifices I’ve made to get here and is thanks to my team-mates and coaches, too."
Having picked up his first goal of the month trophy for the volley, he says he doesn't know if he's ever scored a better goal – and says only one even comes close, as a young player in Argentina.
"There was one I scored for Lanus in our massive local derby against Banfield in 2016," he explains.
"In the last minute, I got the ball on the halfway line, ran all the way to goal and gave the goalkeeper a sombrerito – a little chip over his head. That goal was really important for the derby and went a long way to us winning the Argentine title that year. That’s an amazing achievement for Lanus – a good club, an organised club, but not a Boca or a River Plate in Argentina."
Of course, FFT immediately went on an important research mission (read: searched it on YouTube and discovered it was the top result) to bring you that very goal so you can make up your mind for yourself on which is better. Enjoy.
