Nigerian striker Victor Boniface scored twice to lead Bayer Leverkusen to a 5-1 victory over newly promoted Darmstadt on Saturday, sending his team to the top of the Bundesliga.
Boniface, who joined Leverkusen from Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer, opened the scoring with a stunning solo effort, slicing through the Darmstadt defense before elegantly chipping the ball over the goalkeeper.
Darmstadt, who had yet to earn a point in their first two matches after returning to the top division, equalized shortly after through Oscar Vilhelmsson.
However, Leverkusen regained the lead after halftime through Argentine World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios, whose shot took two fortunate deflections into the net.
Leverkusen then sealed the victory with two quick goals from Boniface and German winger Jonas Hofmann, who scored his first goal for his new club since joining from Borussia Moenchengladbach in the summer.
