The Newcastle player with 54 touches was worse than Isak against Bournemouth

Newcastle United lost first time in 2025 as AFC Bournemouth blew the Magpies away at St James Park this afternoon.

A 4-1 win for the Cherries means Eddie Howepeople could slip outside the top four in the Premier League depending on the other results, and ends the club’s streak of nine victories.

Justin Kluivert’s two goals put the visitors ahead at half-time, and he completed his hat-trick as the heat died down, before Miloš Kerkez scored the fourth to seal an incredible victory.

Several Newcastle players failed to deliver what they have done in recent weeks, above all Alexander Isakwho played poorly.

Alexander Isak’s game in numbers against Bournemouth

Before the game, the Swedish shooter had scored in eight straight Premier League games for the Toon, including goals against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.

He still played the full 90 minutes against Trešanje failed to register one hit, on target or off target, during the game.

Isak completed just 18 passes throughout the game, while winning just three of his seven tackles on the ground and losing possession 11 times in what was a rare underwhelming display from the former Real Sociedad man.

Of course, not everyone is expected to be at their best every single game, but Howe would expect a more spirited performance.

However, it wasn’t just Isak, defender Valentino Livramento also struggled to contain Bournemouth’s lively attack throughout the game.

Valentino Livramento struggled against Bournemouth

The right-back played the full 90 minutes, moving from the right side of defense to the left after Lewis Hall was lost, taking 54 touches during the game.

But he was poor on both sides, just like Livramento skipped three timeshe made two tackles, won just one of his aerial duels and lost the ball 11 times against the Cherries.

He wasn’t much better in the sequel. Admittedly, the defender sent three crosses during the game, but none of them were accurate, and he managed only one dribble, but he failed to make a key pass or create a big chance.

All in all, it wasn’t a display that Howe would have been happy with and he must now ruthlessly drop the defender from the line-up against Southampton next time out.

Could this see a return to the starting XI Kieran Trippier? The Englishman has played only 16 games this term for the Magpies, with only seven of them coming into the starting 11, and the manager must now ditch Livrament to bring back the experienced ace.

Despite this limited playing time, the 34-year-old succeeded with 50% of his dribbling in the Premier League, while averaging an 86% pass success rate and returning 2.3 balls per game.

Today’s heavy defeat will force Howe to make some changes for the clash against Saints. Judging by his performance, Livramento could warm the bench.