Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has conceded that his side's 2-2 draw at Bournemouth in the Premier League represented two points dropped for the club.

The Magpies surrendered a two-goal lead at the Vitality Stadium, with Dwight Gayle's brace putting them in the driving seat at the interval, but second-half strikes from Adam Smith and Dan Gosling saw the match end all square.

"It is always difficult when you have a team that is pushing at home but we had the chances to finish the game and didn't do it, we have to improve on that," BBC Sport quotes Benitez as saying.

"We were I think in control of the game and had a clear idea of how to do things. They didn't have too many chances, I would say that the chance that we missed and then the goal they scored quickly after, that changed everything. After that, we lost control. We have lost two points."

The result sees Newcastle drop to 15th place in the Premier League table, leaving them two points away from the relegation zone.