Victor Boniface continued his impressive return to action by scoring the winning goal as Bayer Leverkusen defeated Newcastle United 2-1 at St James’ Park on Saturday.
The Nigeria international came off the bench in the 80th minute and needed only seconds to make an impact, producing a composed individual finish to secure victory in Leverkusen’s final pre-season game.
The result capped an encouraging build-up for Boniface, who has featured in every pre-season fixture since returning from a lengthy injury layoff.
Boniface strikes late for Leverkusen
Leverkusen made a fast start when Ibrahim Maza opened the scoring moments after kick-off.
Newcastle responded and eventually levelled shortly before half-time through Malick Thiaw, leaving both sides tied at the break.
Leverkusen introduced Boniface and fellow Nigerian Nathan Tella in the 80th minute as the visitors searched for a late winner.
Boniface immediately provided the decisive moment.
The 25-year-old received the ball on the edge of the Newcastle penalty area, worked his way past several defenders and calmly placed his shot into the bottom corner.
His finish gave Leverkusen a 2-1 lead and proved to be the winning goal.
Nigerian forward builds momentum
The goal was Boniface’s third of pre-season after he scored twice during Leverkusen’s 7-0 victory over Baumberg.
His performances have offered an encouraging sign ahead of the new campaign after the striker endured a difficult period last season.
Boniface spent the first half of the previous campaign on loan at Werder Bremen before suffering a serious knee injury that brought his season to an early end.
The Nigerian has since worked his way back to fitness and used Leverkusen’s pre-season schedule to show his readiness for the new season.
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