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Victor Boniface Celebrates Brace Of Goals For Bayer Leverkusen In Pre-season Friendly
Injury-plagued Nigerian striker, Victor Boniface is celebrating his return to the European spotlight, following his brace of goals for Bayer Leverkusen in a very dramatic pre-season friendly at the weekend, Sports247 reports.
READ ALSO: Back From Injury: ‘I’m Ready To Help’ — Boniface Targets Strong Finish After Long Layoff
While his compatriot, Nathan Tella was also on the score sheet for Leverkusen in the same encounter, the major talking point was about the return of Boniface, who spent all of last season struggling while on loan at Werder Bremen.
However, in what appears like a spirited effort to show that he is ready to stake a bold claim and return to relevance at the former club of ex-international, Karibe Pascal Ojigwe, Boniface made the best of his first match back.
The product of Real Sapphire FC of Lagos hit the bull’s eye twice to help Leverkusen start their pre-season campaign in emphatic style, with a 7-0 win over fifth-tier German side, Sportfreunde Baumberg.
It was the first game for Leverkusen’s new coach, Carles Martínez, and the team got off to a canter when summer signing, Afonso Moreira hit two first-half goals on his debut, while Christian Kofane also scored before the break.
Boniface then took over after the break, as he struck twice, following which Robert Andrich and Tella completed the rout within the game’s 70-minute timeline, as Martinez handed opportunities to several young players, while new signing, Kennet Eichhorn was unavailable.
Sports247 reports further that Boniface took to social media to celebrate his brace of goals, as he posted a selfie showing himself with two raised fingers to indicate his double strike at the weekend.
He will now aim for a continuum of his spark back at Leverkusen when they continue their pre-season build-up schedule this weekend with another friendly, this time out against Kickers Offenbach.
Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala was on target as Al Hilal produced an impressive 4-0 away victory over NEOM, with fellow Nigerian international Christy Ucheibe also featuring in the convincing performance.
Sports247 reports that Oshoala continued her contribution to Al Hilal’s attacking campaign by finding the back of the net in the 65th minute, helping the visitors strengthen their advantage in a dominant display.
Read Also: Arokodare Shines With Brace and Assist as Ajax Thrash Midtjylland 6-1 in Conference League
The Nigerian forward’s goal came during an impressive second-half performance from Al Hilal, who added three goals after the interval to complete a comprehensive victory.
Moroccan forward Ibtissam Jraidi opened the scoring in the 11th minute, giving Al Hilal an early advantage before the teams went into the break.
Oshoala doubled the visitors’ lead in the 65th minute before Manar Al-Anzi made it 3-0 just four minutes later.
Jraidi then completed her brace in the 88th minute, sealing the emphatic 4-0 result for Al Hilal.
Christy Ucheibe, Oshoala’s Super Falcons teammate, also played a part in the victory as the Nigerian duo continued to make their contributions to the Saudi Arabian club.
The result represents another important outing for Al Hilal, with the team’s attacking quality evident in the performance against NEOM.
For Oshoala, the goal provides another opportunity to demonstrate her goalscoring ability and importance at club level. The six-time African Women’s Player of the Year remains one of Nigeria’s most recognisable football exports, and her performances continue to attract attention.
The presence of both Oshoala and Ucheibe in Al Hilal’s squad also highlights the growing influence of Nigerian players in women’s football outside the country.
With the emphatic away victory secured, Al Hilal will look to build on the performance in their subsequent fixtures.
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