Newcastle United were brought crashing back down to earth on Saturday.
A club record-equalling run of nine consecutive victories was halted in emphatic fashion as an impressive Bournemouth side beat Newcastle 4-1 at St James’ Park.
While Eddie Howe’s side were sloppy throughout, credit has to be given to the Cherries. In truth, they absolutely smashed the hosts and could really have scored more than the four they ultimately managed.
Indeed, they even had a goal disallowed by VAR.
It was a dreadful day for the Newcastle United manager, with the likes of Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon struggling for Newcastle against Bournemouth.
Still, it wasn’t only the attacking players who failed to show up. TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole picked out a certain Lewis Hall for criticism.
Joe Cole says something looked “off” about Newcastle United player Lewis Hall
Hall wasn’t the only Newcastle player to struggle with Bournemouth’s press but did look well below his usual level of performance.
As per SofaScore data, the 20-year-old actually lost the ball ten times before he was taken off just after the hour mark to make way for Kieran Trippier.
Though surely few would doubt the fact that Hall has been one of the standout players for Newcastle this season, he endured a difficult day at the office here – albeit he took the corner from which Bruno Guimaraes scored.
Speaking to TNT Sports during their live coverage, Cole said: “Lewis Hall has been a little bit off it today.”
Lewis Hall sent brutal reminder at Newcastle United
This season has largely been a success story for the defender, to the point where Newcastle sources have expressed their shock that Chelsea sold Hall.
This, however, was a reminder that he’s not yet the finished product – which is only natural at his age.
Bournemouth were fantastic and deserved their victory but Newcastle’s sloppy showing certainly helped them.
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