Dan Burn put in a supreme defensive performance to help Newcastle United secure a point on the road against Bournemouth.
The Geordies haven’t won away in the Premier League since beating Leicester 3-0 in early April, but have been steadily accruing points on the road at the start of this campaign with goalless draws against Aston Villa and Leeds United.
That was the case once again on Sunday, with Newcastle standing tall despite Bournemouth enjoying the majority of possession and forays into the attacking third. Eddie Howe can thank his captain for this latest clean sheet.
In this article, we’ll cover:
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What was Dan Burn’s Squawka Score?
Dan Burn Squawka Score: 69%
Burn’s Squawka Score of 69% is very impressive. Fuelled by his high volume of clearances and four aerial duels won, only teammate Sven Botman (70%) and Burnley’s Maxime Esteve (72%) scored higher among centre-backs over the entire weekend — with the exception of Sunday’s late kick-off.
The Squawka Score is our proprietary performance rating, combining multiple Opta stats into a single percentage. It benchmarks players against their positional peers, allowing quick comparisons. Learn more about how it works here: https://www.squawka.com/en/news/squawka-score-explained/
Dan Burn’s no-nonsense approach
Burn is an underrated footballer, as proven by the fact that he can play left-back, as well as his now-regular place in the England national team set-up. Indeed, he completed both his attempted dribbles on the day.
However, it was his back-to-basics approach that stood out on the south coast, with Burn getting through his defensive work with a minimum of fuss.
The 33-year-old made a whopping, match-high 11 clearances throughout the match, 10 of which were with his head. Burn was alive to any loose balls around Newcastle’s box, making five recoveries, while he made a vital interception and block to thwart the hosts — alongside two tackles.
Despite his heavy involvement, Burn was only dribbled past twice, while he contested 17 duels — winning eight of them but making a nuisance of himself on all of them.
Key defensive stats
- Clearances: 11 (Ranked 1st)
- Defensive contributions: 15 (Ranked 1st)
- Recoveries: 5 (Ranked =3rd among Newcastle outfield players)
Dan Burn’s relentless running
At 33 years old, you might expect Burn to be slowing down. Instead, this is a player who seems to be ageing like a fine wine.
While he nominally lined up as the left centre-back in a three, Burn took every opportunity available to him to bomb down the flank in support of Lewis Hall.
The result was Burn playing five passes into the final third and, as mentioned, completing two dribbles, while producing a heatmap that looked more like a full-back than a centre-back.
Dan Burn underutilised at the other end
While he tried his level best to cause havoc at the other end, Burn just wasn’t utilised correctly by his teammates.
His massive frame makes him a serious threat from set-pieces, but Burn had just one touch in the opposition box throughout the 90 minutes against Bournemouth, while failing to attempt a shot and generating just 0.03 xA.
Newcastle tried to find Burn on corners, but the delivery wasn’t good enough, which was ultimately a waste of what could have been their best route to goal — especially given Eddie Howe is still trying to work out the best way to fit Nick Woltemade into his forward line.
Burn can’t be individually judged for his lack of offensive output. He is a defender, after all. But his teammates could certainly benefit from some target practice on crosses during training in the upcoming week.
Key attacking stats
- Touches in the opposition box: 1
- Shots and chances created: 0
Three straight goalless draws represent a solid, if a little underwhelming, start to Newcastle’s away campaign. However, Burn is certainly helping provide a rock-solid defensive platform for Howe’s side.
If the Newcastle boss can find the spark up-front — which will surely be much easier when he has Yoane Wissa available and Anthony Gordon back from suspension — they should start clocking up plenty of points away from St. James’ Park.
Up next for the Magpies is a home clash with Bradford in the EFL Cup, before hosting Arsenal in the Premier League. Then, they’ll look to wash away the disappointment of their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona when they travel to Belgian champions Union SG at the start of October.