Allan Saint-Maximin’s three-assist day helped Newcastle United punis poor Bournemouth with a 4-1 battering Wednesday at the Vitality Stadium.
The Magpies’ French revelation set up goals from Dwight Gayle, Sean Longstaff, and Miguel Almiron and Jonjo Shelvey cued up Valentino Lazaro for another in sending Newcastle to 42 points and 13th place.
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Dan Gosling scored late for Bournemouth, who is in big trouble. The Cherries’ goal differential now puts them bottom of the three sides on 27 points. The Cherries sit 19th with six matches to play.
Three things we learned
1. The stage belongs to ASM: There are few players in the league as clever and magnet-booted as Saint-Maximin, who finally got finishers on the end of his wizardry. Newcastle will struggle to keep hold of the 23-year-old, who has cast aside the character concerns that came with him from Ligue 1.
2. Bournemouth looks lost: The Cherries are only in the Premier League safety picture due to the horrid displays of teams around them. The four goals conceded weigh heavily on Eddie Howe’s men, who have to hope Watford, West Ham, and Villa all struggle and split points with each other down the stretch. Bournemouth’s last six games are no cakewalk: Manchester United, Spurs, Leicester City, Man City, Southampton, and Everton.
3. Almiron adjusted: Atlanta United’s Paraguayan export took some time to find his finishing touch in the Premier League. He looked bright but without end product for Rafa Benitez this year, then really struggled to start life under Steve Bruce. He’s looking the part again and scored his seventh goal in all comps this season.
That said, Bournemouth would’ve done well to challenge the ball here, yeah?
Man of the Match
Saint-Maximin. The Frenchman has completed more dribbles per game than anyone not named Adama Traore.
Bournemouth - Newcastle recap
The Magpies struck early when Gayle took a Saint-Maximin pass and finished with class inside the near post, a much harder finish than the sitter he missed against Man City in an FA Cup quarterfinal on Sunday.
It was 2-0 through Longstaff, who slammed home a shot from the heart of the 18 after Saint-Maximin dribbled the left side of the box into submission.
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Almiron was there for 3-0, taking the ball from Saint-Maximin and scoring a classy effort after dribbling into the box.
Lazaro’s first Premier League goal wads Newcastle’s fourth of the day, taking a Shelvey feed to punish Aaron Ramsdale.
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It could’ve been 5-0 when Nabil Bentaleb smashed the wood work and the rebound wobbled to an offside Isaac Hayden to pop over the bar
Ramsdale made a fine save on Andy Carroll in stoppage time to keep the line 4-0.
Bournemouth did not trouble Martin Dubravka until their stoppage-time goal, ex-Magpie midfielder Gosling pushing Ake’s flicked ball over the line.
Before that were five shots blocked with another five missing the target.