Miguel Almiron came off the bench to secure a 2-1 victory for Newcastle United over Wolverhampton Wanderers with only his second goal since December to move his side up into fifth place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Left out of the starting line-up by manager Eddie Howe, Almiron got his chance in the 68th minute and made his mark 11 minutes later with a superbly-taken goal to earn Newcastle a first league win in six games.
Club record signing Alexander Isak had given Newcastle the lead with a powerful header after 26 minutes although they were perhaps fortunate not to be down to 10 men after keeper Nick Pope appeared to take down Raul Jimenez in the box earlier.
To add to Wolves’ frustration Pope made several top-quality saves and Daniel Podence fired a shot against the post.
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But the visitors did equalise when a slip by Kieran Trippier, as he tried to clear the ball, allowed substitute Hwang Hee-chan the easiest of finishes in the 70th minute.
Newcastle hung on to claim the victory that enabled them to overtake Liverpool with 44 points from 25 games – four behind Tottenham Hotspur with two games in hand.
Paraguayan Almiron could not stop scoring earlier in the season but the goals have dried up of late.
He burst back into form, however, with a curled finish after being played through by a pass from Joe Willock.
Izak, who was preferred to another out-of-form Newcastle forward Callum Wilson, ran Wolves ragged at times in a tireless display and was rewarded with his fourth goal in nine league appearances since his big-money move from Real Sociedad.
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