Bournemouth news: Opinion – Season review of the goals

Then there were the hat-tricks.

Makeshift striker Dango Ouattara starred in a 5-0 rout of Nottingham Forest, which ultimately improved the goal difference enough to pip Brentford to ninth place.

And Justin Kluivert hit two trebles on the road, with a historic hat-trick of penalties at Wolves, before gunning down Newcastle to score more league goals at St James’ Park in one game than his father Patrick managed in an entire season on Tyneside.

In context, that 4-1 win at Newcastle on 18 January was the champagne moment of an unforgettable season. The Magpies went into that game on a run of nine successive wins, being talked about as title contenders, with Alexander Isak on a red-hot streak of 11 goals in his past eight league games.

Iraola could only name a patched-up XI with players out of position and a threadbare bench of development squad players, the six outfield subs boasting only four substitute league appearances for the Cherries between them. The omens were not good for the fans who had left their homes in the early hours to make the longest journey of the season for a Saturday lunchtime kick-off.

But those fans were treated to a breathtaking performance to live long in the memory. Isak did not get a kick. Even some Newcastle diehards I spoke to after the game hailed it as the best away performance they had seen at St James’ Park in years.

Off the field, the Cherries have a new state-of-the-art training ground – and owner Bill Foley chose its opening ceremony to announce that a deal had been reached to buy back Vitality Stadium, which had been sold and leased back two decades earlier when the financial wolves were circling.

Two years ago, Foley promised European football within five years. While a top-seven place was tantalisingly out of reach in 2024-25, this Bournemouth team have made a habit of shattering glass ceilings – and they are not done just yet.