Justin Kluivert says Bournemouth are dreaming of qualifying for Europe after scoring an incredible hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Newcastle.
The Dutch forward was the star of a fantastic performance at St James’ Park that lifted the Cherries to the astonishing heights of sixth place in the Premier League.
Andoni Iraola’s side have surprisingly been in the top half for most of the season and are currently unbeaten in 11 games.
But their good form comes as no surprise to Kluivert, who says qualifying for Europe has always been a goal for the Cherries.
What a way to score a hat trick 🤩
Justin Kluivert graces an extraordinary performance with style 💫
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 18, 2025
He told TNT Sports: We know how difficult it is to play here. Hats off to the team for coming here with so many injuries and being able to achieve such good results.
“I want to help the team and be an important part of the club. Our run was beautiful and we showed that we are here to make an impression.
“At the beginning of the season we had a lot of ambitious players in the team and everyone wanted to play in Europe and we are showing that.
“Why not dream big? You never know where you will end up. The Champions League will be very tough, but you never know.”
Bournemouth deserved to win at St James’ Park, surprising the hosts who had won their previous nine games in all competitions.
“We’re here to make an impression.”
Justin Kluivert talks about Bournemouth’s great form and his hat-trick against Newcastle 🙌
🎙️ @julesbreach
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 18, 2025
Antoine Semenyo, who also attracted attention, added the following about Premier Reggae’s work:
“We knew we had to press correctly and we would get chances. And as you can see from some of the goals, we pressed correctly and got the three points. .
“We knew there would be moments when they would keep at the back, so we wanted to catch up with the back four. “The moment the goalkeeper made the pass to the centre-back, that was the trigger for us to score and it worked perfectly. I went.
“Justin’s finish was special. He’s a top player for us. It was a well-deserved hat-trick.”
Their 11-game unbeaten run is even more impressive considering they currently have to deal with a number of injuries, with both Evanilsson and Enes Unal recently ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Semenyo added: “It’s all about mindset. Our mindset is so strong that we’re mentally tough. We’ve had some tough moments with injuries, but we know collectively we can do it and everyone I can’t tell you otherwise.
“We are taking it game by game and not putting any pressure on ourselves.”
