Adrien Truffert was the unlikely hero as his late winner saw Bournemouth edge out Newcastle United 2-1 at St. James' Park.

The left-back scored his first goal for the Cherries five minutes from time to boost their hopes of securing European football next season.

Both sides had gone close in the opening 20 minutes, with Harvey Barnes and Marcus Tavernier both shooting narrowly wide of the target.

However, the visitors broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute of their first game since it was announced that Andoni Iraola will leave the club at the end of the season. Rayan embarked on a strong run that took him away from Lewis Hall before his low cross was bundled home by Tavernier from close range.

Evanilson wasted a glorious opportunity when he volleyed wide from inside the six-yard box, while Djordje Petrovic did brilliantly to prevent an Alex Scott own-goal at the other end.

Bruno Guimaraes, moments after returning from injury as a substitute, was challenged by Evanilson, who unwittingly found William Osula in the 68th minute, with the in-form striker's neat finish eventually awarded following a VAR review after the offside flag had initially denied him.

Yet Bournemouth regained their advantage with five minutes remaining. After starting the move, Truffert finished it by prodding into the roof of the net, after Evanilson cushioned Tavernier's cross neatly into his path.

Newcastle pushed for a late equaliser as they looked to avoid a third straight defeat. Guimaraes called Petrovic into action from a tight angle, while Dan Burn headed over as Bournemouth survived to move level on points with sixth-place Chelsea.

Data Debrief: Lucky 13 for buoyant Bournemouth

Bournemouth are now unbeaten across their last 13 matches in the Premier League (W6 D7); it is both the longest current run without defeat in the top-flight, and the Cherries' longest-ever unbeaten run in the competition.

Tavernier set the ball rolling with his sixth league goal of the season, his most in a single campaign in the English top-flight.

Despite Osula's third goal in four Premier League games, Newcastle suffered their eighth defeat in their last 11, with only Tottenham (nine) suffering more losses in the competition since the start of 2026.

The Magpies named their youngest starting XI in a Premier League match (24 years, 191 days) since May 2005 against Everton (24 years, 122 days).

Nevertheless, Eddie Howe has now failed to win all eight of his top-flight meetings with former club Bournemouth (D5 L3) – his most games against a side in the competition without a single victory.