Victor Boniface’s ferocious strike in Bayer Leverkusen’s 5-1 win over Qarabag at the BayArena has been nominated for the UEFA Europa League Goal of the Group Stage.
He is set to battle former Arsenal captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s strike for Marseille in their 4-3 win over Ajax, Lucas Paquetá’s efforts for West Ham in their 2-1 loss to Olympiacos and the 2-1 victory over Freiburg.
Other nominees are the free kick goal of Magnus Wolff Eikrem for Molde in the 5-1 win over Häcken, Thijs Dallinga’s effort for Toulouse in the 3-2 win over Liverpool, Santi Comesaña strike for Villarreal in the Spanish side’s home win over Panathinaikos and Djibril Sidibé goal for AEK Athens in the 3-2 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
Completing the list are Lorenz Assignon’s goal for Rennes in its home to Villarreal and his teammate, Ludovic Blas’ long-range effort in the French side’s first-leg win over Maccabi Haifa.
Boniface has yet again been one of the standout players in the Europa League this term, scoring four goals in five games, two less than the competition’s leading top scorer, João Pedro of Brighton.
With Bayer Leverkusen being excused from being involved in the knockout round play-off having finished atop their group, the Nigeria international will have to wait to add to his tally in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Boniface has heaped praises on his Bayer Leverkusen teammate, Florin Wirtz, BSNSports.com.ng reports.
The league leader defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 with Boniface and Wirtz scoring in the encounter.
Boniface, while speaking on the game, tagged Wirtz as a special talent.
“ I’m very happy to play with Flo, he has a special talent and he has helped us all,” he said
The Nigerian International remained the club’s top scorer and they remained unbeaten this season.
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