It's been a long, tortuous road for Victor Boniface, Nathan Tella and Bayer Leverkusen, but they are champions after the season's shenanigans.
Xabi Alonso may be the most talked about person when the story of Bayer Leverkusen's title conquest is told, but it will not be complete without the mention of Victor Boniface.
It will be a tale of rookies who complemented each other as they dethroned a formidable force like Bayern Munich to clinch the title in style.
Alongside his Nigerian compatriot, Nathan Tella – Victor Boniface was in action as Bayer Leverkusen beat Werder Bremen 5-0 to lift their first-ever Bundesliga title.
The duo became only the second Nigerian to win the Bundesliga after former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh.
Victor Boniface helps Leverkusen seal Bundesliga title
On a Sunday evening, Victor Boniface crowned a momentous first season with Bayer Leverkusen as they claimed their first title.
It was an occasion filled with a festive ambience, and only a win could make them champions on the day, as the defending champions, Bayern Munich, won their game the previous day.
Xabi Alonso started his two Nigerians, who sought to make it a glorious evening.
The former Union Guilloise striker, who just returned from injury a few weeks ago, started ahead of Patrik Schick.
Victor Boniface turned the arena into a party when he converted a 25th-minute penalty to give Leverkusen the lead.
Victor Boniface making no mistakes from the spot. Bayer Leverkusen on the verge of sealing the Bundesliga title with a win over Werder Bremen.
— Fisayo Dairo (@FisayoDairo) April 14, 2024
Many expected Die Werkself to steamroll over Werder Bremen to clinch the title, and they did just that.
Playing in front of the home crowd, Leverkusen was confident of a win to seal the title. They had every reason to be content, as Alonso has not lost to Bremen since he took over as coach.
The last two outings between both sides saw Leverkusen winning 2-3 and 0-3.
Victor Boniface was a thorn in the flesh of Bremen as he turned provider on the hour mark for Granit Xhaka to score.
The party was well and truly underway when Florian Wirtz made it 3-0 in the 68th minute.
Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella played just 62 minutes, but within that period, they concluded the show and gave Leverkusen fans plenty to cheer.
Victor Boniface and Leverkusen are still unbeaten
Nobody gave Leverkusen the chance to do what they did this season.
They are a side of young lads and rookies on a modest budget trying to do what no manager in the club's history club has achieved.
Die Werkself did not only win the title on Sunday but also broke a long-standing record held by Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola's Bayern set a 28-game unbeaten run, which Leverkusen shattered with their 3-0 win. Die Werkself are still unbeaten in all competitions.
CHAMPIONS! 🖤❤️#Winnerkusen #DeutscherMeisterSVB pic.twitter.com/Xw5ElOpAyM
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) April 14, 2024
No one can rule out the contributions of Victor Boniface, who, despite missing 11 games due to injury, scored 11 goals and nine assists in his debut season for the club.
The Nigerian striker also got his first invite to the Super Eagles this season. He won one Player of the Month and four (record-breaking) Rookie of the Month awards.
It has been a glorious season for Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 months ago
