A central defender put in a majestic performance at the heart of the defence.

In their first Champions League match at St. James’ Park in more than 20 years, Newcastle United made history by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 4-1.

Despite being outpossessed on possession, the Magpies defeated the French champions with a resounding victory and were comfortably in charge of the game for the majority of the entire 90 minutes.

Miguel Almiron’s goals in the 17th minute allowed the hosts to sit back and soak up pressure to defend their lead and this allowed Eddie Howe’s men to pick PSG off on the counter attack with relative ease.

Dan Burn made it 2-0 before the break and it only took five minutes into the second half for Sean Longstaff to make it 3-0, which meant that two local lads were on the scoresheet.

The three points, after a consolation goal from Lucas Hernandez, were then sealed in stoppage time at the end of the match as Fabian Schar rocketed a strike in from distance to round off the scoring at 4-1.

Who was Newcastle’s man of the match against PSG?

It feels harsh on the collective effort from the group to single out one player for praise, as every player did their bit to contribute to the stunning victory, but the scorer of the fourth goal, in particular, had an outstanding game at the back for the Magpies.

Schar made an impact in and out of possession throughout the 90 minutes and played a crucial role in Newcastle claiming the victory, with a dominant display at the heart of the defence.

The Ligue 1 champions were prevented from bothering Nick Pope’s goal by the £40k per week titan, who was a beast off the ball and made a number of crucial interventions.

He engaged in three physical encounters with PSG forwards during the course of the game, winning all of them. These encounters included one in the air and two on the ground.

According to Sofascore, Schar also made two interceptions, two tackles, and seven clearances, while Jamaal Lascelles, his center-back partner, also made two clearances and three combined tackles and interceptions.

These numbers demonstrate that the Switzerland international outperformed his captain at PSG and was the standout defender, as he made significantly more interventions to stop opponent assaults than his captain.

The talented enforcer, whose performance was described as “magnificent” by journalist Craig Hope, also caught the eye with his play in possession.