Goal celebration: “I will keep it up” – Why Victor Boniface pulls down his pants

His team’s performance was very reminiscent of the previous championship season. Bayer Leverkusen played as one in Sinsheim, and yet one man always stood out a little: Victor Boniface.

This was a brilliant comeback for the Rhinelanders after the 2:3 defeat against Leipzig and the end of their impressive winning streak of 35 unbeaten Bundesliga games. The defending champions beat TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 4:1 (2:1) thanks to a confident performance and now have six points. “Good teams lose once, but not twice, three times or four times,” said captain Granit Xhaka.

In front of 30,150 spectators, Leverkusen’s goals were scored by Martin Terrier in the 17th minute, Bonifatius with a brace (30th/75th) and Florian Wirtz (72nd) with a converted penalty. Mergim Berisha scored for Hoffenheim (37th).

Two weeks after the 2:3 defeat against RB Leipzig, the Werkself appeared to have recovered well from the sporting setback. From the beginning, the champions and cup winners dictated the rhythm of the party and at times tied the home team up in their own half. Always in the thick of it: Bonifatius.

He was also the one who broke through after a quarter of an hour and cleverly crossed the ball to Terrier, who was running alongside him, and he slotted the ball in for his first Bundesliga goal. “It was very important for us to win again after we lost against Leipzig.” “We needed this game to give us another push before the Champions League game,” said Bonifatius, who scored for the first time himself a quarter of an hour later.

Boniface and the Nigerian influencer

He was able to score goals. Despite his months-long injury, the 23-year-old managed to score 14 goals in 23 games last season. His celebration, however, is new.

After his goal, the Nigerian pulled the hose down a little and danced across the pitch. The same thing happened after his second goal of the day, with which he made the preliminary decision: pants down, dancing legs out.

“I don’t want to provoke anyone with it. I only did it in front of our own fans,” the striker clarified on the Sky microphone and explained his unusual celebration pose: “It’s a TikTok trend from a Nigerian influencer, and he’s a big influencer.” He choreographed the dance and asked me if I could do it. I told him: no problem.”

Even before the season began, the two had agreed to adapt the dance on the green Bundesliga pitch, Bonifatius said: “I would have done it in the first two games, but I hadn’t scored a goal yet. And when I scored, it was time to keep my promise.”

Images that fans will get used to. “It’s a beautiful dance and I’m going to keep it up.” “You’ll see more of it,” announced the goalscorer. With his performance and effectiveness, documented by two goals and an assist, he suggested that he – like his team – is back on the road to success.

“I’m very happy about it after being somewhat unlucky in the first two games and not scoring or assisting. I really needed it, but I had a good feeling before the game.”