Victor Boniface continued his impressive pre-season form for Bayer Leverkusen, scoring the winning goal as the German Bundesliga side secured a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
The Nigerian forward, who has featured in every pre-season game for Leverkusen, was introduced in the 80th minute but needed just seconds to make his mark, producing a fine individual effort to seal a morale-boosting victory for Carles Martínez side.
Leverkusen made a blistering start to the encounter, taking the lead just seconds after kick-off through Ibrahim Maza. Newcastle responded strongly, however, and eventually restored parity in the 44th minute when Malick Thiaw found the back of the net.
With the game finely poised at 1-1, Leverkusen made a double substitution in the 80th minute, bringing on Boniface and fellow Nigerian Nathan Tella for Afonso Moreira and Maza.
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Boniface wasted little time announcing his arrival. The 25-year-old collected the ball on the edge of the box, dribbled his way through the Newcastle defence and calmly placed his effort into the bottom corner to give Leverkusen the lead and ultimately secure the victory.
The goal was Boniface’s third of pre-season, having previously scored twice in Leverkusen’s emphatic 7-0 victory over Baumberg.
His performances during the build-up to the new campaign have provided a major boost for Leverkusen, with the Nigerian now looking increasingly ready to play an important role as he returns to full integration with the squad.
Boniface spent the first half of last season on loan at Werder Bremen before a serious knee injury brought his campaign to a premature end. After a lengthy spell on the sidelines, the forward has used pre-season to demonstrate that he is ready to rediscover the form that made him one of the Bundesliga’s most exciting forwards.
Leverkusen will begin their 2026/27 campaign with a DFB-Pokal clash against Wehen Wiesbaden on Saturday, August 22, before opening their Bundesliga campaign away to Elversberg on Saturday, August 29.
For Boniface, his latest goal will further strengthen hopes that the new season could mark the beginning of a successful return to his best.
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