Tag: Boniface

Nigeria international striker Victor Boniface is thrilled  with his  stoppage-time winner that gave  Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen a thrilling 4-3 win over Wolfsburg yesterday ahead of next week’s trip to Bayern Munich.

In a seesaw encounter, the teams were locked at 3-3 from the 48th  minute.

Wolfsburg were then reduced to 10 men in the dying stages when Yannick Gerhardt sunk his studs into Jeremie Frimpong’s calf.

Boniface, who came on with 22 minutes remaining, collected a pass before pivoting on the spot and shooting home to snatch the German champions another late victory.

“We knew how Wolfsburg would play and what we were up against… we really wanted to turn the game around for our fans,” Boniface  reportedly said after the match .”We managed to do that. Now, of course, we’re very happy.”

Yet Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka was far from pleased with the win, calling the result  ‘a giant wake-up call’. 

 “We can’t keep going with performances like that. We can’t defend so naively. Sure, we scored four but we can’t do that every weekend.”

Read Also: NFF chief  urges Falconets to  win U-20 World Cup

Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso had named a heavily changed line-up from the side which thrashed Feyenoord 4-0 in the Champions League on Thursday, giving Nordi Mukiele his starting debut.

However, Mukiele, signed on loan from French champions PSG, endured a nightmare start when he allowed the ball to bounce in off his thigh for a fifth-minute own goal.

Florian Wirtz, who scored a brace on his Champions League debut on Thursday, drew Leverkusen level with a superb effort from outside the box shortly after.

Jonathan Tah headed the hosts ahead from a corner after 32 minutes but Leverkusen’s joy was short-lived, with Wolfsburg’s Sebastiaan Bornauw equalising five minutes later, jumping above Mukiele to head in from close range.

Mattias Svanberg scored from the edge of the box on the counter for Wolfsburg before Leverkusen levelled again on 48 minutes through Piero Hincapie.

In breaking through for their debut Bundesliga title last season without losing a match Leverkusen dropped just 12 points but they appeared on course for a second setback after losing to RB Leipzig in their last home game.

Boniface had other ideas and sliced the ball home in the third minute of injury time to keep Leverkusen three points behind league leaders Bayern, ahead of next week’s clash in Munich.

Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen put their first defeat in 35 Bundesliga games behind them yesterday when they thumped Hoffenheim 4-1 with Victor Boniface bagging a brace.

The win will be a confidence-boost for Xavi Alonso’s men Leverkusen, who start their Champions League campaign next Tuesday in Rotterdam against Feyenoord.

Frenchman Martin Terrier scored his first Bundesliga goal to give the visitors a deserved lead, before Boniface danced around defenders to add a second while Mergim Berisha soon pulled one back.

Read Also: EPL: Leicester City draw Crystal Palace 2-2 at Selhurst Park

But eventually, Leverkusen found a way through. Florian Wirtz converted a penalty before Boniface added a well-taken second.

Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, making his 464th Bundesliga appearance to draw level with German football legend Lothar Matthäus, made a string of saves to keep the home side in the game.

Despite dominating, Leipzig couldn’t find a way past Union Berlin and had to settle for a point after a 0-0 draw.

Though  punished   for ‘anti sporting’ conduct , Nigeria’s Bayer Leverkusen  forward,  Victor Boniface , believes he  and his teammates  can deliver  more silverwares  for Die Werkself  in the 2024/2025 season.

Boniface has been handed a match ban and fined 25,000 Euros after an offensive gesture during  last Saturday’s DFL Super Cup match  clash against VfB Stuttgart.

He will miss a German Cup match, which means he will be available for Bayer Leverkusen opening Bundesliga match of the new season Friday against Borussia Monchengladbach.

The  notwithstanding, the 23-yer-old  who had an  outstanding  performance  last season  as his goals partly  helped Leverkusen to  secure the Bundesliga title for the first time as well as the German  Cup.

Aside winning  the Rookie of the Year award in the Bundesliga, Boniface finished  his first season with Leverkusen  as their top scorer in the league with 14 goals.

“Of course. I can’t really top the Rookie of the Season because I am not a rookie anymore, but we can achieve the same thing, not just me alone, but the team in general,” the former Union Saint-Gilloise striker told the Bundesliga official website. “We had a fantastic season last year and we see what it meant to the people, because they support us and everything. We don’t mind giving them that again. Try to do what we did the last season. Try to achieve something good again.”

Read Also: ‘Why Boniface did not play against South Africa’

Yet, Boniface would be the first  to admit  that  there  is still room for personal  improvement, adding  he has yet to reach his limit.

“No, no, no. There is a lot more,” he noted. “In terms of everything. In terms of me to improve as a player and learn new stuff. There is room for improvement for me. I am the type of guy that learns every day. So, I think there is more I can achieve individually and in terms of collective with the team.”

He added: “Everything. Like I said, I learn every day. For my own side, I think there is more of what I know I can do, but it is not just about me. It is about the whole team. The most important thing is the team. As long as we are winning I am happy and I am fine with it.”

Super Eagles head coach Finidi George has offered reasons why Bayer Leverkusen bomber Victor Boniface did not feature for Nigeria against South Africa on Friday.

Nigeria forced South Africa to a disappointing 1-1 draw at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo to leave the Super Eagles’ World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.

Finidi made some bold calls in his starting lineup, opting to start a front three of Ademola Lookman, Paul Onuachu, and Kelechi Iheanacho.

Read Also: Our battles with oil vandals, other criminals- NSCDC

Finidi says he had plans to send Boniface late on but an injury to West Brom defender Semi Ajayi halted the switch.

“Allow us to do our jobs. We wanted to introduce Boniface and Moffi, but Semi had a knock and we had to take him off and introduce Moffi and Onyedika.

“The fans and media would shout for different players, if they don’t perform well, the shout will be, take him off. Allow us to do our jobs.”

German international Florian Wirtz has beaten Super Eagles attacker and  his  Bayer Leverkusen’s  teammate,  Nigeria international striker , Victor Boniface, to the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season for 2023/24 accolade.

Wirtz is having a remarkable campaign and recently  helped the  Leverkusen to lift the Meisterschale title for the first time in their history.

Also in the running  for the award were two players won the monthly award, presented by EA Sports, on two occasions in VfB Stuttgart duo Serhou Guirassy (September and March) and Deniz Undav (November and January), while Wirtz’s Werkself teammates Alejandro Grimaldo (April) and  Boniface (August), who has also just been named Rookie of the Season, were voted once each.

Read Also: Dominican Republic 2024: Liberia stun Senegal to set up date with Flamingos

But Wirtz’s stellar season saw him being  voted the Player of the Month on three occasions (October, December, 2023 and February, 2024).It  was  therefore  not surprising  he has been crowned the season’s best player following votes from fans which determined the Team of the Season.

The German scored 11 goals and 11 assists in the just concluded Bundesliga season, which were both his personal bests for a Bundesliga season.

It has been a season to remember for Wirtz and Leverkusen as a whole, as they claimed the Bundesliga title for the first time ever and are also on for a potential treble, with finals in the UEFA Europa League and DFB Cup to come.

The attacking midfielder only turned 21 at the start of May but has been a leading figure in all key statistics for Xabi Alonso still unbeaten side.

Boniface scored against Augsburg and celebrated in style as Leverkusen were formally coronated as Bundesliga champions following a historic unbeaten campaign.

The 23-year-old striker helped Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title in their 120-year history, with this phenomenal displays that has already seen him earn the rookie of the 2023/24 season award.

Read Also: Boniface’s Bayern Leverkusen eye Bundesliga  ‘immortality’

Xabi Alonso’s men recorded a 2-1 win against Augsburg at the Bay Arena with two first half goals from Boniface and Robert Andrich, before Mert Komur pulled one goal back in the second half.

Following the full-time whistle at the Bay Arena, jubilations erupted as the new champions were officially handed the Bundesliga trophy to celebrate their historic feat.

Champions Bayer Leverkusen chase “immortality” in the shape of an undefeated Bundesliga season today  as relegation-threatened Union Berlin face a last-day battle for survival.

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen can become the first team in Bundesliga history to go through a campaign unbeaten by avoiding defeat against Augsburg.

Not even the greatest Bayern Munich sides have managed an invincible season.

That Alonso’s men have done it without losing in any competition – a European record 50-game streak which includes runs to next week’s German Cup and Europa League finals – shows how incredible they have been.

A win against Augsburg would net Leverkusen 90 points from 34 games – the equal second-highest tally in German football history.

Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick said the match was “like a final”, while captain Lukas Hradecky said his team had “immortality” in sight.

Regardless of the result, Leverkusen will host the Bundesliga shield on Saturday and Hradecky said he would “be careful” not to hold it upside down, like Stuttgart captain Fernando Meira did in 2007.

In the German capital, Union – who faced Real Madrid in the Champions League in December – need to beat Freiburg and hope for other results to go their way in order to avoid relegation.

Read Also: Barcelona considering sacking head coach Xavi

Union won at home on the final day last season to finish fourth and qualify for Champions League football, continuing the team’s rise after their debut promotion in 2019.

Remarkably, Union sat atop the Bundesliga standings after two games this season, but then fell to rock bottom after a run of nine straight losses.

In 16th  spot, Union need a point to avoid falling through the trap door. Even then, staying in 16th  will still mean a two-legged playoff against Fortuna Duesseldorf, who finished third in the second division.

Duesseldorf boast a 52,000-seat stadium and are in incredible form, having not lost in the league since early February.

For Union, even a win will not guarantee safety. Union will only be safe if one of Mainz, who play at Wolfsburg, or Bochum, who travel to Werder Bremen, lose. Freiburg coach Christian Streich, who signs off from a 14-year tenure at the club against Union on Saturday, said his side were “going to play to win”.

Victor Boniface’s fairytale debut season with German Champions Leverkusen has  yet been richly rewarded after  the Super Eagles  striker was announced yesterday as Bundesliga ‘s Rookie of the Season.

 Following his imperious performance that saw him  winning  four  Rookie of the Month Awards  between August and November, the  choice of Nigerian  did not come as a surprise to many as he was voted for the coveted award  ahead of the trio of  Leipzig’s Xavi Simons, Dortmund’s Ian Maatsen and Hoffenheim‘s Beier.

Transferred   to Leverkusen from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise last summer, the 23-year-old Boniface  was on fire almost throughout the season  scoring as if goals out of fashion  during  his four monthly reign  as the rookie of the month  in August,  September, October  and November of 2023 as he scored seven goals and provided five assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances. He also added three further goals and two more assists in four league outings before the winter break.

Read Also: Boniface listed for Bundesliga Rookie of Season

 He made his international  debut for Nigeria last September  but  injury forced him out of the  2023 Africa  Cup of Nations where the Super Eagles  were undone in the final match by hosts, Cote d’Ivoire  to finish in second position.

But he  bounced back   in spectacular fashion in February and regarded as one of the class acts  that helped  Leverkusen  won their  first  Bundesliga  title as they  push  for a treble with the addition of the DFB Cup and UEFA Europa League.

Even with  three  more matches  to go in the Bundesliga, Boniface  already  has 13 goals and eight assists in 22 games and it goes without saying that more accolades  is in the offing for him.

Rikke Hermine Jensen, girlfriend of Bayer Leverkusen sensation, Victor Boniface has taken to social media to celebrate Leverkusen’s qualification for the Europa League finals, Soccernet.ng reports.

Bayer Leverkusen clinched their spot in the finals after a draw with AS Roma in the second leg of the semi-finals. Leverkusen had secured an advantage in the first leg last week, with a 2-0 win.

Following Bayer Leverkusen’s victory, Victor Boniface’s girlfriend shared a series of photos from the stadium, celebrating their journey to the finals. Rikke and her friends were present at the Bay Arena yesterday to support her man and his team.

Read Also: Boniface scores as Bayer 04 remains unbeaten

Accompanying the beautiful photos was the caption: “From losing the quarter-finals to Rome in 2022 to winning and going to the Europa League final are happy and proud girls!!!”

This victory holds a special significance for Leverkusen, as they had been defeated by AS Roma in the quarterfinals of the 2022/23 Europa League; a loss which fueled their determination this season.

Boniface’s team made a remarkable comeback in the second half of the game, after conceding two goals in the 43rd and 66th minute. Leverkusen now faces Atalanta in the final, aiming to secure their second trophy of the year.