Sandro Tonali pushes Bournemouth coach and Joelinton rages but ‘chaos’ rocks Newcastle United
Newcastle United did not show enough aggression on the field
A roar went up. A whopping seven minutes of stoppage time had just been added on at St James’ Park when Eddie Howe literally pushed William Osula on to the field. A substitute rescued a point in the closing minutes last season when Newcastle United were 2-1 down against Bournemouth. Was history about to repeat itself? Not this time.
Just seconds later, Justin Kluivert sent thousands of Geordies on their way after scoring his and Bournemouth’s third. Remarkably, there was still time for Milos Kerkez to add a fourth goal on what was the very definition of an off day for Newcastle following a club-record-equalling winning streak.
For context, this 4-1 loss was Newcastle’s first defeat since December 7. Newcastle conceded more goals against Bournemouth than the black-and-whites had in their previous nine games combined. It was the first time Eddie Howe’s team had shipped four at home in nearly a year.
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That’s how good Bournemouth were. You can see why the aggressive Cherries are unbeaten in 10 games and have picked up more points than any other Premier League side on the road in recent weeks.
The visitors disrupted Newcastle’s rhythm – committing nearly three times as many fouls (18) – after ‘making the game as chaotic as possible’ in the words of midfielder Tyler Adams. If only Newcastle had played with the aggression the hosts showed just before the break when Joelinton scythed down Kluivert and his team-mates arrived on the scene to back him up. Or when Sandro Tonali pushed Pablo de la Torre out of the way as the Italy international attempted to take a quick throw-in deep in first-half stoppage time after the Bournemouth coach bounced the ball around.
However, it was Bournemouth who flexed their muscles throughout. Bournemouth forced sloppy Newcastle into mistakes time and time again, as the visitors hunted and harried, and you certainly would not have known the relentless Cherries were also contesting a third game in quick succession. Or that Bournemouth lined up without a recognised striker. Or that Iraola’s team were so battered by injuries that eight of the nine players on the bench were aged 21 and under. The exception? Mark Travers, one of two goalkeepers named in reserve.
