Rafa Benitez reveals why he had to take Newcastle's Dwight Gayle off against Bournemouth

Rafa Benitez has explained his decision to substitute Dwight Gayle in Newcastle United's 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.
Dan GoslingDan Gosling
Dan Gosling

Gayle scored both goals at the Vitality Stadium, where Benitez's side lead 2-0 at the break.

However, after Ayoze Perez and Jonjo Shelvey missed chances to put Newcastle 3-0 up, Bournemouth hit back.

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The home team scored twice in the last 10 minutes to claim a point.

United manager Benitez had to take Gayle off after he complained of "tightness" in his hamstring.

“Dwight was complaining about a little bit of tightness in his hamstrings, so we needed to make a substitution," said Benitez.

"The problem is that they were pushing and coming from the wide areas and making crosses.

"Ayoze was the striker, and we were trying to make sure that we had more control, but we were giving the ball away and they were pushing.

"Sometimes, you have to give credit to the other team."