Dango Ouattara’s second-half hat-trick fired Bournemouth to a stunning 5-0 statement home win over high-flying Nottingham Forest to raise hopes of a shock Champions League finish.
The Cherries followed up last weekend’s impressive 4-1 win at Newcastle with another sensational victory as they inflicted the Premier League’s third-placed side’s first defeat in all competitions since early December.
An irresistible Bournemouth stretched their club-record unbeaten run in the Premier League to 11 games to move just a point off the top four with Forest’s hopes of a surprise title challenge taking a huge dent as they fell nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
A sorry Forest were rocked in the ninth minute as Bournemouth’s hat-trick hero against Newcastle, Justin Kluivert, struck again with a scorching opener from distance which arrowed into the bottom corner.
Bournemouth then ran riot in the second half as Ouattara’s quickfire double put the home side in full control as he superbly headed home in the 55th minute before netting a low finish six minutes later.
Ouattara then completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute as he rebounded home from close range before Antoine Semenyo added a fifth in stoppage time to cap off a fabulous performance from Andoni Iraola’s side, who will be eyeing another big win next Saturday when they face leaders Liverpool at home.
