Boniface unusually quiet as Bayer Leverkusen pummel Mainz

Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface against Mainz | Imago

FOOTBALL Boniface unusually quiet as Bayer Leverkusen pummel Mainz

Boniface unusually quiet as Bayer Leverkusen pummel Mainz

Ayoola Kelechi • 16:37 - 30.09.2023

There were shockingly no goals or assists for Victor Boniface despite Bayer Leverkusen's big win over Mainz in the Bundesliga

Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface failed to register a goal or assist in a match for only the second time in his Bundesliga career so far, as he was unable to impact the scoresheet in Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-0 win over Mainz on Saturday afternoon. 

Prior to the fixture, Boniface had enjoyed a run of six goals and two assists in five matches in the Bundesliga, but Mainz were able to emulate Bayern Munich in keeping the Nigerian quiet although it came at a cost to Die Nullfünfer. 

In the absence of goals from Boniface, Bayer Leverkusen were still triumphant over their hosts, as an own goal from Sepp van den Berg as well as strikes from Alex Grimaldo and Jonas Hofmann were enough to give them an easy victory. 

How it happened

Bayer Leverkusen came into the fixture in high spirits, aiming for an equally high position on the Bundesliga log and also looking to continue their unbeaten start to the league season. 

They were soon in front, despite not totally dominating the opening proceedings, when van den Berg put through his own goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead after only 18 minutes of play. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Neither side really threatened to change the scoreline before the half-time break, as the opening 45 minutes only saw two more shots on target apart from the goal shared between both sides, with Bayer Leverkusen only firing one shot in total in the opening period. 

The second-half was a different ball game entirely, especially for Bayer Leverkusen, who doubled their lead through former Barcelona academy star Grimaldo, who scored a stunning freekick to make it 2-0 to Die Schwarzroten. 

Another goal came just five minutes after Grimaldo’s when Hofmann scored on the counter to seal the win for Bayer Leverkusen. The 3-0 triumph over their hosts sends Bayer Leverkusen to the summit of the Bundesliga after five wins and one draw against Bayern Munich in their opening six matches. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

They have played one more game than the Bavarians, who could reclaim the top spot with a win over RB Leipzig later and will be hoping that Bayern drop points against another top team in the division. 

Related content

Tags:
Victor Okoh Boniface Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga Nigeria