Victor Boniface endured a frustrating afternoon in front of goal as Bayer Leverkusen laboured a 1-0 over Heidenheim at the Voith-Arena on Saturday, with the Super Eagles forward struggling to make an impact in his lone striker role.
Substitute Emiliano Buendía struck in stoppage time to secure a crucial away victory for Xabi Alonso’s side.
With Alonso choosing a lone-striker system, he entrusted the role to Boniface—just as he did for much of last season—favouring him over the club’s current top scorer, Patrik Schick.
However, unlike in Die Werkself’s 3-1 triumph over Bochum the previous week, Boniface was unable to find the back of the net and was eventually substituted in the 68th minute, with Arthur coming on to take his place.
Saturday’s result leaves the reigning Bundesliga champions six points behind league leaders Bayern Munich, who secured victory in their fixture a day earlier.
Muted outing for Boniface as he struggles to make impact
It was a quiet evening for Victor Boniface, whose influence was notably limited during Bayer Leverkusen’s goalless draw with Heidenheim.
The Nigerian forward failed to register a single shot on target, off target, or even a blocked attempt throughout the match. His lone dribble effort was unsuccessful, and although he had 31 touches, he completed only 12 of 17 passes, yielding a 71% pass accuracy.
Boniface did create one key pass but struggled in duels, failing to win any of his nine ground duels and winning just two of three aerial contests. To compound a frustrating outing, he lost possession 15 times before being substituted in the 68th minute.
In the current campaign, Boniface has recorded 10 goals and one assist in 22 appearances across all competitions this season.
