In his team’s 2-1 loss to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool manager Arne Slot made the perplexing choice to have midfielder Alexis Mac Allister mark the formidable Dan Burn from corners. Since then, he has given an explanation for his choice.
Burn’s little stature was a strange sight in the Liverpool box, and Mac Allister, who is only 1.76 meters tall, had to keep the 6-foot-7 defender from getting his head on balls into the box.
that he didn’t, and Burn, who is currently among the tallest players in the Premier League, emerged ahead of the others just before halftime to give his team a one-goal advantage. At the time, Mac Allister was completely disoriented and was unable to locate the Englishman.
"It's the boy from Blyth!"
A bullet header from Dan Burn! 💥 pic.twitter.com/TWjNryvqeu
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) March 16, 2025
Slot chose not to change their approach and kept a little Mac Allister marking the improbable goal scorer in spite of the Magpies’ obvious victory from the bizarre matchup. Liam Tharme of The Athletic, who focusses on the tactical aspect of the game, took to X to try to answer the following questions:
I humbly want everyone to understand that Mac Allister is there to act as a roadblock rather than to outjump Burn. He doesn’t initially face VVD or Konate, who serve as zonal markers to ensure that everything is clear, because Newcastle is getting around that with straight balls.
Absolutely imploring everyone to realise that Mac Allister is not there to outjump Burn but he a blocker. Newcastle are circumnavigating that with straight balls so he doesn’t duel VVD/Konate in the first place (who are in place as zonal markers to header things clear)
— Liam Tharme (@LiamTharmeCoach) March 16, 2025
Naturally, Slot, who is considered to be among the greatest managers in world football, was questioned about his choice following the chaos at Wembley and stated that Liverpool’s zonal marking strategy was the reason.
I can clarify. We engage in zonal play. Five of our guys are always zoned close to our goal, so if the ball lands there, one of the five stronger players will always attack it. Macca is one of the three players that we have that man mark.
“Normally, I think this is an exception, but I have never in my life seen a player from that far away heading a ball with so much force into that far corner,” the 46-year-old added. “Normally, a player like Burn runs to the zone because”
“I knew Alexis [Mac Allister] wasn’t looking at the ball and I was able to get a good jump on him,” Burn, who was born in Blyth, said of his iconic goal. I knew it was in as soon as I headed it. At least I’ve kept it for a special occasion because I don’t receive many.
Amazingly, Burn’s well-taken header was only his eighth goal in Newcastle’s legendary black and white and his first of the 2024–25 season. He has only scored 22 goals in his more than 500 career appearances, but none of them are more significant than the one he scored against Liverpool.
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