Had Matty Longstaff skewed his low, rasping drive against Manchester United wide, rather than directed it into the bottom left-hand corner of the net to deliver all three points for Newcastle United, there would have been far greater scrutiny of Miguel Almiron’s first-half miss.



Played through via an inch-perfect pass from a revitalised Sean Longstaff, the Paraguayan beat the offside trap and advanced into the area. Rather than take his shot early, Almiron hesitated, took an extra couple of touches and, by the time he did unleash an effort, a desperate Harry Maguire was able to slide in and block it away.



Such profligacy in front of goal is becoming a common theme for Almiron, particularly at St James’ Park. Clear-cut chances during the 1-1 draw with Watford and the dire stalemate against Brighton and Hove Albion came and went for the 25-year-old.



It is now a staggering 18 Premier League appearances without a goal or an assist — a statistic...