Justin Kluivert says Bournemouth are dreaming of European qualification after his fantastic hat-trick in the 4-1 win at Newcastle.
The Dutch forward was the star of what was a brilliant display at St James’ Park that lifted the Cherries to the dizzying heights of sixth in the Premier League.
Andoni Iraola’s men have surprisingly been pushing in the top half for most of the season and are currently unbeaten in 11 games.
But for Kluivert, their form is not a surprise and he says that the European qualifications have always been the goal of the Cherries.
What a way for a hat-trick 🤩
Justin Kluivert presents an exceptional performance in style 💫
📺 @tntsports and @otkrićeplusUK pic.twitter.com/r1vKLOICse
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 18, 2025
He told TNT Sports: “This is wonderful. We know how hard it is to play here. To come here with a lot of injuries and dominate like this – hats off to the team.
“I want to help my team and be important for the club. Our ride is beautiful and we showed that we are here to make an impression.
“At the beginning of the season we have a lot of ambitious players in the team, you want to play Europe and we show it.
“Why not dream big and we never know where we might end up. The Champions League would be very difficult, but who knows?”
Bournemouth deservedly won at St James’ Park, surprising the hosts who had won their previous nine games in all competitions.
“We are here to make an impression”
Justin Kluivert talks about Bournemouth’s impressive form and scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle 🙌
🎙️ @julesbreach
📺 @tntsports and @otkrićeplusUK pic.twitter.com/8zlNe5s3Kq
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 18, 2025
Antoine Semenyo, who also caught the eye, added to the Premier Legaue production: “It was a crazy performance from us.
“We just knew we had to manage the press properly, and if we did that, we would get chances and as you saw from a few goals, we managed the press well and got the three points.
“We knew they had moments when they would hold back and we wanted to get the last four. As soon as the goalkeeper passed to the middle defender that was our trigger and it worked perfectly.
“Justin’s cover was special. He is a top player for us. It was a well-deserved hat-trick.”
Their 11-match unbeaten run is even more impressive given the large number of injuries they currently have to deal with, with Evanilson and Enes Unal recently ruled out for the rest of the season.
Semenyo added: “It’s all mindset. Our way of thinking is so strong that we are mentally strong. We go through all these difficult moments with injuries, but we know that collectively we can do it and no one can tell us otherwise.
“We are going game by game and not putting any pressure on ourselves.”
