11th April, 2024
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nigerian striker, Victor Boniface came from the bench on Thursday to hit target as Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final match.
Boniface, who just came from a long-spell injury was introduced into the game in the 76th minute when the score was still goalless.
Jonas Hofmann, another substitute who came in the same time with the Nigerian, broke the deadlock to put Leverkusen in front. He showed good composure inside the box to fire a first-time shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0.
One minute into added time, Hofmann sent a superb cross into the box. Boniface latched on to it and from close range planted a header into the bottom right corner, leaving Lukasz Fabianski beaten and made it 2-0 for Leverkusen.
Earlier in the first half, Mohammed Kudus latched on to an accurate pass into the box and immediately unleashed a low shot goalwards. His effort was well saved by the keeper.
In the 20th minute, Alejandro Grimaldo received an amazing defence-splitting low pass on the edge of the box and blasted the ball towards the right post. Lukasz Fabianski guessed his intention and dived superbly to deny him with a remarkable save.