Boniface and Tella FINALLY beaten in German Bundesliga
Super Eagles players Nathan Tella and Victor Boniface joined Bayer Leverkusen last season and had never tasted defeat until Saturday’s 2-3 home loss to Leipzig.
Tella and Boniface were in action for Bayer Leverkusen, but their efforts were not enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig at the Bay Arena.
Bayer Leverkusen returned to Bundesliga action on Saturday, hosting RB Leipzig at the Bay Arena. The Werkself had started their season positively, having come from behind to defeat Borussia Mönchengladbach in their previous match.
However, the challenge posed by Leipzig proved to be significantly tougher. Bayer Leverkusen’s head coach, Xabi Alonso, handed Nigerian striker Boniface a starting position, while his compatriot Nathan Tella began the match on the bench.
Leverkusen dominated the first half, asserting themselves as the better side. Their efforts paid off in the 39th minute when Jeremie Frimpong opened the scoring. Boniface came close to doubling the lead just before halftime with an acrobatic attempt inside the box, but the shot missed the target.
Shortly after, in the 45th minute, Alejandro Grimaldo extended Leverkusen’s lead with a second goal. However, Leipzig’s Kevin Kampl scored in stoppage time of the first half, keeping the visitors in contention.
The second half saw a shift in momentum as RB Leipzig mounted a comeback. Lois Openda leveled the score at 2-2 in the 57th minute. Despite Tella’s introduction to the game in an attempt to regain control, Leipzig took the lead in the 80th minute, with Openda scoring his second goal of the match.
The match concluded with a 3-2 victory for RB Leipzig, marking the end of Bayer Leverkusen’s impressive 35-game unbeaten streak.
The defeat serves as a setback for Bayer Leverkusen, who will be looking to regroup and bounce back in their upcoming fixtures.