Premier League rules inflict 'harsh' blow on Newcastle United star

The former Switzerland international has a habit of scoring special goals - see Paris Saint-Germain last season for example - but his attempt at the King Power Stadium nearly topped the lot!

With Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen off his line, Schar unleashed an audacious shot from the halfway line, only to be denied by the crossbar. Fortunately, Jacob Murphy was on hand to follow up the rebound - but there was still a reflection on what might have been from head coach Eddie Howe and the player himself.

“I think it's only something Fabian will see, maybe a couple of other players might see it, but I don't think they have the technical ability to actually do what he did,” said Newcastle boss Eddie Howe.

““I thought it was in actually and Jacob was the beneficiary of that. But again, another example of him doing something that almost everyone else can't do.”

What a ‘devastated’ Fabian Schar had to say

Schar revealed his “devastation” at seeing his shot cannon off the upright. And in a further blow, Premier League assist rules means the 33-year-old doesn’t get the assist for Murphy, which Howe agreed was “harsh”.

“Obviously I felt I hit it pretty well and obviously I wanted to be the goalscorer but at least we scored from that situation,” Schar said. “It was just instinct in that situation, I saw the keeper was off his line and I hit it well but we scored from that.

“I felt that I hit it pretty well but I thought that it might be too long or just about [right] and obviously when it hit the crossbar I was devastated, but then I was still pretty happy with Murphy scoring the goal. It was a big moment early in the first-half.

“I don’t even get an assist for that, which is the worst thing! Obviously it would be nice to score but at the end of the day I’m happier about the win and the three points. You don’t practice that in training, it’s just instinct and trusting in my abilities.”

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