The Swiss centre-back, who has become a pillar of Newcastle's defence since arriving for just 3 million, has been sidelined after suffering a heavy blow to the head in the midweek Champions League tie against Barcelona. As per the strict concussion protocols in the Premier League, Schar was forced into a mandatory 12-day recovery period, having now endured two such incidents in a short space of time.
A corner, taken sharply from the left, precise, travels through the clear Munich sky. In the penalty area, a tangle of arms and bodies piles up, elbows jostling, heads poking out, legs scrambling. And at that moment, Vanessa Gilles springs up if she were made for this very scene. She rises higher than everyone else, appearing unshakeable, almost detached. The ball hits her forehead, solidly, uncompromisingly. A strike like a machine: determined, powerful, unstoppable. Seconds later, it's nestling in the far corner of the net.