The Review: Marko Lazetic has a little bit of magic that could make all the difference to Aberdeen

Of all the sensational individual goals in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, none was better than that scored by Aberdeen’s Marko Lazetic in Paisley.

Six minutes into stoppage time, with the game against 10-man St Mirren still goalless, the striker dashed on to a long pass and was ushered out towards the corner flag.

With nothing on, Lazetic was fully expected to hold up the ball and await support, but instead he spun his man on the byeline and quickly whipped a ferocious shot inside the far post.

It was an outrageous effort, teed up and executed from the tightest of angles in a flash of brilliance that is exactly what’s needed on awkward, hard-fought days such as these.

Aberdeen had not won a league game in Paisley since 2018. In those seven frustrating years, they have sometimes dug deep, but too often lacked the quality to overcome difficult opponents.

Not any more. Signed on a free transfer from Milan, 21-year-old Lazetic has the potential to play at a higher level, which is why he was the subject of of a £3.5million transfer from Red Star Belgrade when he was barely 18.

On-loan winger Jesper Karlsson, who cost Bologna £9.5m just two years ago, is another with international pedigree. As is Adil Aouchiche, whose loan from Sunderland includes a £1.5m option to buy.

All have the ability to conjure much-needed magic when margins narrow, as they so often do under Swedish manager Jimmy Thelin.

Last season, his Aberdeen team went from title contenders to serial losers, while also winning the Scottish Cup, in a campaign that demonstrated the fine line between success and failure.

This season, they triumphed in just one of their first 11 games. Three weeks ago, Thelin’s future was in doubt, so poor had results been since the start of the calendar year.

But an unfortunate defeat at Fir Park, followed by a heartening display at home to Shakhtar Donetsk and a 4-0 win at home to Dundee suggested that a corner was being turned.

With a little help from Lazetic in Paisley, they secured their first away win in the league since April and lifted themselves off the bottom of the table, one point ahead of Livingston.

Nothing can be taken for granted with this enigmatic Aberdeen team, but suddenly the mood has changed and they find themselves just four points behind third-placed Hibs, who visit Pittodrie on Sunday.

Hibs, too, have a game-changer in £1m-plus signing Thibault Klidge, whose goal in the 4-0 win against Livingston was a stunner to rank alongside those by Rangers’ Thelo Aasgaard and Dundee United’s Craig Sibbald.

Lazetic, though, produced the best and most decisive of the lot, which is how Aberdeen would like it to be in the weeks ahead. In a fiercely-competitive league, that little bit extra makes all the difference.