- Kluivert opened the scoring five minutes before Bruno Guimaraes equalized
- The Dutchman scored again before the break and completed a hat-trick in injury time
- LISTEN NOW: It's all starting! Is Everton where they deserve to be or are the club's fans deceived?
Chasing 10 out of 10, Newcastle put in a performance worthy of a minimum score and the brilliant Bournemouth gave them the chance to chase it down. The only player who deserved the maximum score here was Justin Kluivert, author of a magnificent hat-trick.
Kluivert's father Patrick scored just one Premier League goal at St James' Park in Newcastle colours. His son scored two in 45 minutes and lowered those black and white stripes even further by scoring a third in stoppage time.
That made it 3-1, but only when Milos Kerkez scored four a few minutes later did the game have the score that was a true reflection of the difference between the teams.
It would have been a new club record for Eddie Howe's Newcastle if they had extended their winning streak to double figures. But if you are going to have a bad day, don't have it against Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth.
Newcastle were unchanged from a midweek win over Wolves but, even after five minutes, it was clear that tired legs and tired minds would be their undoing.
Howe was already shaking his head at his sleeping stars and they were not yet out of their own half when the Cherries led within six minutes.
It all seemed pretty easy too. Antoine Semenyo broke away behind Tino Livramento (there was now a recurring theme) and retreated for Kluivert to drill unmarked from 12 yards.
Bournemouth didn't give up either. Sensing a weakness at home (several, in fact), they continued forward. Livramento and Lewis Hall, a pair of English full-backs, were enduring by far their most torturous outings of the season against Semenyo and David Brooks.
Overall, Newcastle were slow and sometimes soft, the visitors were fast and aggressive. So when the second goal of the game came in the 25th minute, the only surprise was that it tied.
There were shades of Gary Speed in Bruno Guimaraes as he found space and leapt to head a header into the bottom corner from Hall's corner. It was the respite that Newcastle needed so much but failed to take advantage of.
Normal (or abnormal, given pre-match expectations) service soon resumed. At one point, Anthony Gordon yelled at his teammates on defense: “No more!”
I was asking them to stop playing the ball from behind. I was asking them to stop giving possession to Bournemouth.
They didn't listen. And so, on the stroke of half-time, Dan Burn gave Guimaraes a pass he probably didn't need and the Brazilian quickly lost possession. Kluivert was released by Dango Ouattara and fired over Martin Dubrvaka.
He had to wait another 45 minutes to score his hat-trick, but it was the best moment: he grabbed a loose ball 25 meters away and calculated a shot that he sent into an unprotected corner.
Newcastle had conceded three goals during their previous nine wins but soon had a fourth in 90 minutes when Kluivert found Kerkez and the winger beat Dubravka.
With the score at 2-1, in the 89th minute, Newcastle made a disaster with a free kick and Howe was left with his head in his hands on the touchline. It was that kind of afternoon, and had been from the beginning.