If seasons are defined by single moments, then they don’t come much bigger than that one on Tuesday.
When VAR intervened over the penalty shout for handball, there was only ever going to be one outcome, but we still had to score the penalty.
If there’s one man you wanted to take it, it was Raphinha and he made no mistake in scoring what could be the most important goal of our season. A few weeks ago, I said Rodrigo’s winner at Norwich could be the most significant, but this surpassed that.
It was a 94th minute winner against a rival and allowed us not only to open up some daylight between us and the bottom clubs, but as daft as it sounds given the way the season has gone, it’s moved us within touching distance of that pack of mid-table clubs just above us.
The picture certainly looked a lot healthier at 10.15pm on Tuesday than it has done all season so far, and while we absolutely can’t relax, you’ve got to think now that we can push on.
We picked up a good point at Brighton last weekend after we weathered a storm in the first half and with Brentford coming up at the weekend, and Patrick Bamford nearing a return, we suddenly look in better shape than we have done since September.
It’s not only us either giving reason to be positive. I look below us and Newcastle are all in sorts of trouble. I just cannot see them getting out of the relegation places, and while we’ve had our struggles at times this season, I’ve seen a handful of teams who I feel we are better than. I’m more than confident we’ve got enough to keep moving in the right direction and open up more daylight.