Speaking during the pre-game news conference prior to AC Milan’s match against Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League at the BayArena, captain Rafael Leão revealed that Samuel Chukwueze had given him the scoop on how to stop Victor Boniface from causing havoc. Being a teammate of Boniface on the Nigerian national team, Chukwueze was briefed by the AC Milan forward regarding the strengths and shortcomings of the Bayer Leverkusen striker.
Even if he was quiet in his most recent game against Bayern Munich, Boniface is undoubtedly in a confident mindset going into the matchday two encounter with five goal involvements in seven games across all competitions so far this season. After going to Germany in 2023, the former Royale Union Saint-Gilloise player has amassed 25 goals and 11 assists in 41 games, proving statistically that he is too hot for most defenders to handle.
The physically imposing striker offers pace and trickery, highlighted by the Thierry Henry-inspired fake shot pass he pulled off during Bayer Leverkusen’s 4-0 victory over Feyenoord.
Despite being an injury-prone player, having suffered two cruciate ligament tears in his career, Boniface does not shy away from a tackle, winning 46 percent of his duels during the 2023-2024 season.
In quotes relayed by the official website of the Rossoneri, Rafael Leão told reporters: “I know Boniface, he’s a technical and very dangerous attacker; Chukwueze is his national teammate and he’s spoken about him this week.
“We will need to be prepared to face all of their team, because they play well, even the wide players Grimaldo and Frimpong who are very dangerous.
“They’ll need our attention and respect, but we can’t let them scare us.”
Boniface, along with Marcus Rashford of Manchester United, shared the title of equal top scorer of the 2022–2023 Europa League with six goals in ten games.
