Victor Boniface continued his blistering start to life for new employers Bayer Leverkusen, finding the back of the net twice in a 4-1 Bundesliga win over FC Heidenheim on Sunday.
The Nigeria international was on target in the 4-0 win over Hacken in the Europa League in midweek and opened the scoring against Heidenheim in the ninth minute, evading an opposition defender before planting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
Eren Dinkci equalised Heidenheim in the 58th minute but it did not take too long for Leverkusen to regain the lead as Jonas Hofmann put them ahead five minutes later. The lead was further extended in the 74th minute when Boniface scored from the penalty spot after Alejandro Grimaldo was brought down in the box.
It marked the third occasion this season the former Union Saint-Gilloise forward scored a brace in what was just his fifth Bundesliga outing, joining Erling Haaland (while at Borussia Dortmund in 2020) and Jan Mattson for Fortuna Dusseldorf in 1976 to accomplish such a feat.
3 – In his fifth Bundesliga match, Victor Boniface has scored 2+ goals for the third time – he is only the third player in the competition's history to do so, after Erling Haaland in 2020 for Borussia Dortmund and Jan Mattsson in 1976 for Fortuna Düsseldorf. Double. pic.twitter.com/rQomuLSmcu
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) September 24, 2023
Morocco midfielder Amine Adli rounded things off with his first goal of the season with eight minutes left on the clock.
Leverkusen remained tied with league leaders and reigning champions Bayern Munich on 13 points and will be at Mainz on Friday for their next Bundesliga encounter.
