Kluivert revels in 'beautiful' hat-trick heroics against Newcastle
Justin Kluivert netted his second hat-trick of the season against Newcastle on Saturday, moving Bournemouth up to sixth in the standings.
Justin Kluivert said European-chasing Bournemouth are out to make an impression in the Premier League after producing a stunning display against Newcastle United on Saturday.
Kluivert netted his second hat-trick of the season in the Cherries' 4-1 triumph at St. James' Park, with the Dutchman also turning provider for Milos Kerkez in the closing stages.
His treble is the 20th Premier League hat-trick scored by a Dutch player, with Kluivert the fourth Dutchman to net multiple ones in the league after Ruud van Nistelrooy (five), Robin van Persie (five) and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (four).
Kluivert has scored in three consecutive away league games for the first time, while only Mohamed Salah (11) has scored more Premier League goals away from home this season than the Cherries forward (nine).
He is also just the seventh player to score multiple hat-tricks (two) away from home in a single Premier League term, and the first since Raheem Sterling in 2019-20 (also two).
"This feels lovely. We know how tough it is to play here, and the long run that they had, it’s a great team," Kluivert said.
"But to come here with the injuries that we have, I think we have 12 first-team players, to come here and dominate like this... hats off to the team, really.
"I just want to help my team out to win games, to be important for the club. Happy with the ball and the win, for sure. Our run is also beautiful. We’re here to make an impression."
Saturday's win moved Andoni Iraola's side up to sixth in the Premier League table and just a point behind Newcastle, who currently occupy the final Champions League place.
Bournemouth have won four of their last six Premier League away games (D2), taking more points (14) away from home than any other team since the first victory in this run on November 30th (4-2 against Wolves).
The Cherries have now scored two or more goals in seven consecutive away league games in a single season for the first time in their history.
But Antoine Semenyo, who notched the assist for Kluivert's first goal, insisted that the Cherries are not putting pressure on themselves in their push for European football.
"Our mindset is just so strong, we are mentally tough. We go through all these tough moments with injuries, but we know collectively we can do it and nobody can tell us differently," Semenyo said.
"We are taking it game by game and not putting any pressure on ourselves."