By Peter Weis@PeterVicey

Boniface after dancing away the goal drought: "I forgot how I scored."

Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface and midfield talisman Granit Xhaka had some interesting comments to make after Boniface broke his 2024/25 Bundesliga duck in sensational fashion on Saturday afternoon.

Xhaka kept careful count of how many goals Boniface should have scored while the striker himself - once he moved over to the mixed zone - admitted that he had forgotten how his goals came about. 

The 23-year-old brace scorer also explained his strange goal celebrations. Boniface oddly enough recalled his post-goal dance moves, but not the ones that preceded them.  

 

Saturday proved quite the eventful day for Nigerian striker Victor Boniface. For the first time since he returned from major surgery late last year, the 23-year-old recorded a multi-goal-match for his German club team. Boniface bagged a brace and registered an assist in Bayer 04 Leverkusen's 4-1 win over Hoffenheim. Given how many chances he had, the mega-talented forward could have scored four or more. 

Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka made a special point to emphasize how many tallies Boniface could have netted, praising his teammate in an intentionally sarcastic backhanded manner when conducting his post-match interview. Boniface declared himself "satisfied with my performance". Xhaka wanted more. 

“We know how important he is to us," Xhaka told his Sky interviewer, "You can see that he's back, hungry, holding the balls up and getting into a rhythm. He's still young. He knows what he did well today, but overall he has to score four goals. Then we'll be a bit happier.”

Boniface had some explaining to do when it came to his odd goal celebration. After his goals, Boniface pulled down his shorts, under which he was wearing white cycling briefs, down almost to his crotch and engaged in some odd dance moves. 

"I wasn't trying to make fun of anyone," Boniface insisted, "It's a TikTok trend from a big Nigerian influencer. He created this dance and asked me if I could do it after a goal. When I scored today, it was time to do it.’

It seemed that Boniface had quite a bit on his mind by the time he moved over to the mixed zone. As quoted by chief Leverkusen correspondent Stephan van Nocks of Germany's Kicker Magazine, Boniface didn't even recall the slick footwork that preceded his goals. 

"I forgot how I scored," Boniface said, adding when a set of reporters described his toasting of markers in greater detail, "Really, I honestly don't remember that." 
 

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