Boniface Scores Brace To Help Leverkusen Bounce Back In 4-1 Win Over Hoffenheim

Reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen shook off their first defeat in 35 Bundesliga matches with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Saturday, highlighted by a brace from Victor Boniface.

The commanding win serves as a morale boost for Xabi Alonso’s squad, who will kick off their Champions League campaign next Tuesday in Rotterdam against Feyenoord.

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Hoffenheim took an early lead through French forward Martin Terrier, who netted his first Bundesliga goal. Boniface soon dazzled by weaving past defenders to double Leverkusen’s tally, although Mergim Berisha quickly responded with a goal for Hoffenheim.

Leverkusen eventually regained control, with Florian Wirtz calmly slotting home a penalty, followed by Boniface’s second goal to seal the victory.

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Despite the loss, Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, in his 464th Bundesliga appearance—matching the record of German football icon Lothar Matthäus—made several crucial saves to keep his team competitive throughout the match.

Leipzig held

Despite dominating, Leipzig couldn’t find a way past Union Berlin and had to settle for a point after a 0-0 draw.

With Marco Rose out suspended and Bo Svensson sick, both teams were without their head coaches on the sideline.

Xavi Simons hit the bar, and Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow saved a Lois Openda penalty and a David Raum free kick to frustrate the hosts, who couldn’t maintain their perfect start to the season.

Elsewhere, Frankfurt beat Wolfsburg 2-1 as Omar Marmoush came back to haunt his former employer by scoring a goal in each half.

At the third time of asking, Stuttgart got their first win of the season by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 thanks to two goals in four second-half minutes from Ermedin Demirovic.

In-form Germany striker Deniz Undav had given Stuttgart the lead in the first half, only for Alassane Plea to equalize for the hosts.

A brace from Junior Adamu helped Freiburg to a 2-1 win over Bochum, who had taken the lead with their first goal of the season.

Later on Saturday, Bayern Munich can maintain their perfect start to the season with an away win against newly-promoted Holstein Kiel, a side they famously lost to on penalties in the second round of the German Cup in January 2021.

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