Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface scored for Bayer Leverkusen, but his effort was not enough as they succumbed to a 2-2 draw against Holstein Kiel at Bay Arena, Soccernet.ng reports.
After scoring in midweek against AC Milan, Boniface returned to action for Bayer Leverkusen in their Bundesliga game against newly-promoted side Holstein Kiel on Saturday.
The visitors had picked up just two points from their first five games of the campaign and were the underdogs going into the game.
The gulf in quality was quite evident from the blast of the whistle, as Bayer Leverkusen dominated the early exchanges. It took them just four minutes to take the lead after a brilliant piece of counter-attacking football.
Die Werkself went on a counter started by Florian Wirtz, who ran from his half to Holstein Kiel's half. He then played the ball to Exequiel Palacios, who laid it off to Boniface in the box. The Nigerian striker was not to be denied from close range, as he struck the ball with venom into Holstein Kiel's net to make it 1-0.
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Just four minutes later, Jonas Hofmann doubled Bayer Leverkusen's lead, and it was looking like it would be a long afternoon for the visitors.
In the 26th minute, Boniface put the ball in the net, but the referee ruled it out due to an offside in the build-up to the goal. However after that effort, Leverkusen took their feet off the pedal, allowing their visitors' confidence to grow.
Max Geschwill pulled one back for Holstein Kiel just before the break to set up an interesting second half.
Unfortunately for Bayer Leverkusen, they conceded again in the 69th minute to make it 2-2. After conceding, coach Xabi Alonso replaced Boniface with Schick, but that did not change much.
Eventually, it ended 2-2 at Bay Arena, a disappointing result for Xabi Alonso and his boys. Meanwhile, Boniface's goal took his tally to four in the Bundesliga this season.
