Misleading camera angle, optical illusion or unique technical gesture? This Wednesday, Dan Burn scored a headed goal with an improbable trajectory during Newcastle’s victory against Athletic Bilbao (2-0) on the 4th day of the first round of the Champions League.
The 33-year-old defender started from a distance to find himself alone at the far post to receive Kieran Trippier’s free kick. At the height of the penalty point, but completely shifted to the left, the England international delivered a helmet strike which, originally, looked more like a throw-in for his partners than an attempted strike.
Finally, the ball did not land on a Magpies player, nor at the end of the goal, but in the small opposite net of Unai Simon (11th minute). The ball lightly touched the post before finishing its course in the Basque nets. Burn thus scored the second goal of his career in the Champions League – he had opened his account in the competition against PSG two years earlier (4-1).
It is not surprising to see him score with a header, from the height of his 2.01 m, especially since the full-back has always scored at least once per season since the 2020-2021 financial year. On the other hand, it would have been difficult to bet that he was going to invent the coiled head. Paris Saint-Germain could potentially experiment with it at the end of January, during the 8th and final day of the C1 league phase.