ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Victor Boniface didn’t have to score to make a big impression for Bayer Leverkusen on its return to the Champions League on Thursday.
With an exquisite piece of footwork in the build-up to the second goal in a 4-0 win at Feyenoord, the Nigeria striker earned the praise of his teammates — and plenty of soccer fans on social media.
Boniface was on the edge of the area when he pretended to shoot with his right foot, only to play the ball wide to Jeremie Frimpong with his left foot in the same movement.
Frimpong wound up crossing for Alex Grimaldo to score for 2-0 in the 30th minute.
“That’s his signature move,” Leverkusen forward Florian Wirtz said of Boniface. “I think he’s the best at doing it in the soccer world.”
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso called it a “Boni-trick.”
“When it works, we’re happy,” Alonso said of a piece of skill Boniface does a lot in training, “and when it doesn’t, we need to be a bit simpler.”
Wirtz scored the first and third goals for Leverkusen, which thrilled European soccer last season by going unbeaten in the domestic game in Germany to win the league-and-cup double while also reaching the Europa League final, ultimately losing to Atalanta.
It was Wirtz’s debut in the Champions League.
“We were just happy to be playing in the Champions League again,” the Germany international told DAZN. “I didn’t count on finishing with two goals, but I had two chances and I just used them both.”
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The Associated Press
