Bournemouth comprehensively won the battle of the aspiring European gatecrashers as a hat-trick from Dango Ouattara and strikes from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo demolished Nottingham Forest 5-0.

In-form Forest had won seven of their past eight matches to climb into the Champions League places, but Andoni Iraola’s free-flowing side overpowered them.

When these sides fought out a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the season, few would have predicted both would be in the European shake-up – or, in Forest’s case, an outside bet for the title – by the end of January.

While Iraola vowed to “keep doing the same things”, Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo was left shellshocked by his side’s display. “It surprised everybody, especially the way we started the game. It was bad, from beginning to end,” he said.

“It was a bad day. We need to realise how we do things, how we play football. We shouldn’t allow so many spaces to quality players. The moment we lose that aspect of the game it becomes much harder.

“We have to look at today and make sure not to repeat it again. It must be a warning to everybody. The players, the staff and the fans.”

Forest can probably forget about catching leaders Liverpool now, fun though it was while it lasted. But their fellow Premier League upstarts Bournemouth are now on the brink of joining them in the top four after a scintillating display earned them a fifth win in six matches, stretching their unbeaten record to 11 games.

They went ahead after only nine minutes when Kluivert collected the ball from a throw-in just inside his own half. The Dutchman spun away from a challenge on the halfway line and, with Forest’s defenders backing off, strode forward.

Brimming with confidence following his hat-trick in the 4-1 win at Newcastle last weekend, Kluivert was allowed to get to within 20 yards of goal and pinged a superb shot low beyond Matz Sels’s dive. It was Kluivert’s sixth goal in his past four matches and 12th of the season.

Forest almost hit back immediately when Ryan Yates tried one from long range but Kepa Arrizabalaga tipped the ball around his right-hand post.

Bournemouth were a menace every time they went forward, with Sels blocking Ryan Christie’s swerving shot before tipping Semenyo’s effort wide.

Forest threatened briefly at the start of the second half as Kepa pushed a Nikola Milenkovic header over the crossbar.

But in the 55th minute Bournemouth doubled their lead in style. A clever chip from Milos Kerkez sent Kluivert scampering down the left. On reaching the byline, he clipped the ball to the far post, where Ouattara looped his header back across goal and over Selz.

Moments later Kluivert had the ball in the net again, but a VAR check showed Ouattara was offside when they played a one-two inside the box.

Forest did move three ahead within a minute when Ouattara chased Tyler Adams’s beautifully weighted pass, coolly turned inside centre-half Murillo and clipped the ball home.

Ouattara completed his hat-trick by prodding in the fourth goal after Sels spilt Marcus Tavernier’s drive, and Semenyo threaded the fifth into the far corner in stoppage time to wrap up another statement win for the surprise package from the south coast.