Newcastle's 54-touch man was worse than Isak vs Bournemouth

Newcastle United lost for the first time in 2025 as AFC Bournemouth blew the Magpies away at St James Park this afternoon.

The 4-1 win for the Cherries means Eddie Howe’s men might slip outside the top four in the Premier League depending on other results, and it ends the club’s nine-match winning streak.

Two Justin Kluivert goals had the away side in the lead at halftime, and he completed his hat-trick during the dying embers, before Milos Kerkez scored the fourth to seal a stunning win.

Several Newcastle players failed to perform as they have done in recent weeks, most notably Alexander Isak, who had a poor game.

Alexander Isak’s game in numbers vs Bournemouth

Prior to the game, the Swedish marksman had scored in eight successive Premier League matches for the Toon, including goals against Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and Liverpool.

He played the full 90 minutes against the Cherries, yet failed to register a single shot, either on or off target, during the game.

Isak completed just 18 passes throughout the game, while winning only three of his seven ground duels contested and lost possession 11 times in what was a rare underwhelming display by the former Real Sociedad man.

Of course, not everyone is expected to be at the highest level every single game, but Howe would have anticipated a livelier performance.

It wasn’t just Isak, however, with defender Valentino Livramento also struggling to contain a vibrant Bournemouth attack throughout the game.

Valentino Livramento struggled vs Bournemouth

The right-back featured for the entire 90 minutes, moving from the right side of the defence to the left after Lewis Hall was subbed off, taking 54 touches during the game.

He was poor on both flanks, however, as Livramento was dribbled past three times, made two tackles, won just one of his aerial duels, and lost the ball 11 times against the Cherries.

Going forward, he wasn’t much better. Indeed, the defender delivered three crosses during the game, but none were accurate, while he succeeded with just one dribble along with failing to make a key pass or create a big chance.

Overall, it wasn’t a display that Howe would have been happy about and he must now ruthlessly ditch the defender from the line-up against Southampton next time out.

Could this see a return to the starting XI for Kieran Trippier? The Englishman has played just 16 matches this term for the Magpies, with only seven of those coming in the starting XI, and the manager must now drop Livramento to bring the experienced ace back in.

Despite this limited game time, the 34-year-old has succeeded with 50% of his dribbles in the Premier League, while averaging an 86% pass success rate and recovering 2.3 balls per game.

The heavy defeat today will force Howe into making some changes for the clash against the Saints. Judging by his performance, Livramento might find himself warming the bench.

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