Justin Kluivert said European chase Bournemouth are looking to make an impression in the Premier League after producing a stunning performance against Newcastle United on Saturday.
Kluivert scored his second hat-trick of the season in the Cherries' 4-1 win at St. James' Park, with the Dutchman also supplying Milos Kerkez in the closing stages.
His treble is the twentieth Premier League hat-trick scored by a Dutch player, with Kluivert becoming the fourth Dutchman to score multiple goals in the competition, after Ruud van Nistelrooy (five), Robin van Persie (five) and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (four).
Kluivert has scored in three consecutive away games for the first time, while only Mohamed Salah (11) has scored more Premier League goals this season than the Cherries striker (nine).
He is also only the seventh player to score multiple hat-tricks (two) away from home in a single Premier League term, and the first since Raheem Sterling in 2019/20 (also two).
“This feels great. We know how tough it is to play here, and considering the long run they had, it's a great team,” Kluivert said.
But to come here with the injuries we have, I think we have 12 first-team players, to come here and dominate like that… hats off to the team really.
“I just want to help my team to win games, to be important for the club. Happy with the ball and the win for sure. Our run is also beautiful. We are here to impress.”
Saturday's victory moved Andoni Iraola's side to sixth in the Premier League, just one point behind Newcastle, who currently occupy the last place in the Champions League.
Bournemouth have won four of their last six Premier League away games (D2), taking more points (14) away from home than any other team since their first win in the series on November 30 (4-2 against Wolves).
The Cherries have now scored two or more goals in seven consecutive away games in a single season for the first time in their history.
But Antoine Semenyo, who provided the assist for Kluivert's first goal, emphasized that The Cherries not putting pressure on themselves in their drive for European football.
“Our mentality is so strong, we are mentally strong. We are going through all these difficult moments with injuries, but we know collectively that we can do it and no one can tell us otherwise,” Semenyo said.
“We take it game by game and don't put any pressure on ourselves.”
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