Victor Boniface marked his return from injury with a goal, as Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham 2-0 in the Europa League quarter-final first leg.
There was a sense of inevitability as soon as he was summoned from the bench with the scoreline still 0-0.
Jonas Hofmann’s volley flashed through the crowded six-yard box to break the deadlock in the 83rd minute.
Hofmann then turned provider in the 91st minute, with his inviting cross glanced home by Boniface, to give Xabi Alonso’s side a big advantage ahead of next week’s second leg.
Before that game at the London Stadium, Boniface could win the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen this weekend.
If it doesn’t happen at home against Werder Bremen, Xabi Alonso’s men will have another chance to clinch it away to Borussia Dortmund.
At this point, it is inevitable.
Leverkusen are 16 points clear of Bayern Munich at the top and only need one more win to be confirmed champions.
For a team that has not lost a single match this season, it is a matter of when.
Boniface is set to become the first ever Nigerian to win the German topflight.
For context, his compatriots like Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Jonathan Akpoborie, Sunday Oliseh and Victor Agali failed to achieve the feat.
The 23-year-old has been a key member of Alonso’s impressive team, contributing with 17 goals and nine assists in 26 appearances across all competitions.
His campaign was interrupted with the injury which saw him miss the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles eventually lost the final 2-1 to hosts Cote d’Ivoire. But a lot of observers feel if Boniface was fit for the tournament, Nigeria could have easily won it.
“Well, seeing how the team played at the tournament, one is not sure how Peseiro would have used him. Or maybe it was his absence that made the team play that way. Who knows.
“I hope whoever becomes the new Super Eagles manager ensures he is used in the right system to bring out the best in him,” Calvin Onwuka, the CEO of ACL Sports, tells DAILY POST.
Boniface’s rise to the top has been interesting.
Just last season, he was playing for Union St Gilloise in Belgium.
But Alonso was compelled by his potential and Bayer paid over €20m to secure the striker’s signature.
In Onwuka’s opinion, a lot of factors have contributed to Boniface becoming one of the young bright things in European football.
“Talent, hunger, and desire and has the good fortune of being at a Leverkusen whose time is now.
“These things are beyond deliberate human calculations.
“The challenge is how he delivers from next season onward,” he explains.
Following his fine displays for the German club, Boniface is now being linked with top European sides like Arsenal, AC Milan and Napoli, where he could replace compatriot Victor Osimhen.
But Onwuka advises Boniface to remain in Germany like his manager.
Alonso was heavily tipped to join either Bayern Munich or Liverpool ahead of next season.
But the Spaniard has come out to insist he will remain with the club for at least one more campaign.
On Boniface, Onwuka added: “He should stay one season.
“However, the career is short so if he gets a move to the PL or La Liga for any of the big clubs he should take it.”
