There are different ways to score a hat-trick.
Not the method itself, but how a player scores their three goals — a hat-trick can come from three tap-ins, or three long-range strikes alongside an incredible performance.
Justin Kluivert entered the record books in November when he became the first player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick of penalties during Bournemouth’s 4-2 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
However, the 25-year-old’s performance in the 4-1 victory against Newcastle United on Saturday was even more impressive.
“I am happy that this is my second (hat-trick) in one season,” the Dutch forward told AFCBTV after the game. “The first was a beautiful one for the history books — three penalties — but it is nice to score three from open play.”
It wasn’t only about the goals, though. Kluivert’s performance off the ball was vital to Bournemouth’s high-intensity approach, especially against the physicality of Newcastle’s midfield.
“He (Kluivert) was very good for the goals, that is always what we look at first, and also it’s not a hat-trick from penalties,” said Bournemouth’s head coach, Andoni Iraola. “But, him with Ryan (Christie) and Tyler (Adams), they had a hell of a game today against players that win a lot of duels.”
Even when Kluivert was not the one winning the ball back, he was always in the best position to offer a passing option on the transition, as was the case in his second goal when Christie won the ball in midfield, and Dango Ouattara found the Dutch forward’s run.
Kluivert’s third goal also originated from Bournemouth recovering possession in Newcastle’s half, when Adams stopped a counter-attack and the ball fell to the Dutch forward, who curled it into the back of the net to seal his hat-trick.
The most interesting part of Kluivert’s performance, however, was how he roamed to the wide areas when Bournemouth were in possession. The attacking midfielder constantly moved away from the middle to overload the flanks, as seen from his touch map.
Kluivert’s roams dragged Newcastle’s centre-backs out of position and his passing combinations with Antoine Semenyo and David Brooks helped Bournemouth be a threat in the wide areas.
In this example, Kluivert drops to offer Illya Zabarnyi a passing option between the lines, before combining with Brooks to progress the ball up the pitch and play through Newcastle’s block.
In another example, Kluivert is initially in his central position when Bournemouth are looking to attack down the left wing.
With Jacob Murphy and Tino Livramento focusing on defending Milos Kerkez and Semenyo, Kluivert moves towards the left side to overload that area.
Kluivert dashes into the space behind Newcastle’s right-back and winger, but Sven Botman (No 4) tracks his run and Adams decides against playing the pass.
When Bournemouth did find Kluivert in the wide areas, they created dangerous chances, including the opportunities that led to two of their goals.
On the first goal, Kluivert’s overload creates a three-versus-two scenario down the left wing, with Livramento keeping an eye on Semenyo and Murphy in between the forward and Kerkez.
Christie’s pass to Semenyo forces Livramento to move up, and after the left-winger plays the return pass…
… he curves his run to attack the space behind Newcastle’s right-back. Meanwhile, Kerkez surges forward down the wing and Kluivert dashes inside to put Murphy in a situation where he has to leave one of them free.
Christie then finds Semenyo’s run behind the defence…
… and Murphy reacts late because of the wide overload, which allows Kluivert to attack the space between the lines. Semenyo then plays the cutback to Kluivert…
… who strikes the ball into the far bottom corner to give Bournemouth the lead.
Late in the game, Kluivert’s roams helped Bournemouth seal the victory with their fourth goal.
Here, he is marked by a tired Sandro Tonali and moves towards the right wing when Adams plays the ball to Ouattara.
Ouattara then finds Kluivert between the lines…
… and the winger’s forward movement forces Tonali to adjust his body shape to be able to defend against two options at the same time.
Kluivert smartly dribbles against Tonali’s body orientation and carries the ball inside the pitch…
… before finding the advancing Kerkez, who scores to make it 4-1.
When Kluivert joined Bournemouth in the summer of 2023, he became one of the few players to have played in every one of Europe’s top five leagues and his goal against Sheffield United last season made him one of only three players to score in each of those leagues.
Away from trivia questions and being the son of former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert, Justin’s career has mainly been about his unreached potential. Under Iraola, he has been improving and developing different parts of his game, especially the defensive side.
This season, Kluivert has scored 11 goals (six of which were penalties) and made four assists in all competitions — but more importantly, those numbers are accompanied by impressive performances on and off the ball. The Dutch forward is developing.
As for the hat-tricks, can he do it again?
“Who knows, who knows, maybe more this season,” Kluivert said. “There is still a long way to go.”
