Bayer Leverkusen pulled off a stunning Bundesliga comeback when they twice fought back from a goal down as Victor Boniface netted a 93rd-minute winner in a 4-3 home victory over VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Second-placed Leverkusen have nine points from four games, level with SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankurt and two ahead of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, who play later on Sunday.

Despite taking home the three points, it was far from a convincing performance from the champions, with midfielder Granit Xhaka criticising his side’s defending.

“This is a huge wake-up call for all of us. We can’t continue with this performance,” Xhaka told DAZN.

“We can’t defend so naively. That’s not good enough and shouldn’t happen at this level. A top team doesn’t concede two goals in nine minutes! It was all far too easy.”

Coach Xabi Alonso opted to shuffle his pack, making five changes to the team that beat Feyenoord 4-0 in the Champions League, and Leverkusen suffered a nightmare start as they conceded from a Nordi Mukiele own goal in the fourth minute.

Leverkusen levelled nine minutes later when Florian Wirtz found space on the edge of the box and swept his shot into the bottom corner, before an unmarked Jonathan Tah scored their second with a cool header at the back post.

The lead was short-lived as the visitors equalised from a Sebastiaan Bornauw header before Mattias Svanberg went on a driving run in Leverkusen’s half and curled the ball past goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky on the stroke of halftime.

Leverkusen looked more assured after Alsonso made two changes during the break and their pressure quickly told, as substitute Piero Hincapie headed home a corner in the 49th minute.

Alonso brought on attackers Boniface and Martin Terrier with Leverkusen desperately seeking a winner and Wolfsburg quickly faded under the pressure.

The visitors suffered another blow when substitute Yannick Gerhardt was shown a red card in the 88th minute after clattering into Jeremie Frimpong from behind and then stepping on the defender’s ankle.

Sensing disarray in Wolfsburg’s ranks, the hosts surged forward and Nigerian Boniface, who started on the bench despite scoring twice in Leverkusen’s last league game, pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and rifled home the winner.

“We knew how Wolfsburg would play and what we were up against… we really wanted to turn the game around for our fans,” Boniface said.

“We managed to do that. Now, of course, we’re very happy.”

The win will fill Leverkusen with confidence ahead of their daunting clash against in-form league-leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday.

-Reuters

Champions Bayer Leverkusen cruised to a 4-1 victory at Hoffenheim on Saturday thanks to a dazzling performance by Victor Boniface that included two goals and an assist.

Leverkusen, who face Feyenoord at the start of the Champions League campaign next week, bounced back after losing to RB Leipzig just before the international break for what was their first domestic defeat in more than a season.

On Saturday they took control quickly and struck twice in the first half-hour, with Boniface twice beating the offside trap to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

The Nigerian first set up Martin Terrier for a tap-in after 17 minutes and then scored himself in the 30th.

Hoffenheim’s Mergim Berisha, making his first appearances since a knee ligament tear last November, cut the deficit in the 37th and had another chances for a second goal a little later.

Leverkusen, however, never lost control of the game and restored their two-goal lead courtesy of a Florian Wirtz penalty in the 72nd.

Boniface then single-handedly dismantled the Hoffenheim defence with a strong run down the left, powering a shot past keeper Oliver Baumann in the 75th to lift Leverkusen to fourth place on six points.

Borussia Dortmund are top on seven points, with Bayern Munich, on six, visiting Holstein Kiel later on Saturday.

-Reuters

Werder Bremen have suspended Guinea’s Naby Keita for the rest of the season and forced him to pay a ‘substantial fine’ after he refused to play in Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen.

Keita made headlines over the weekend when he refused to travel with his teammates and instead went home after finding out that he would not make the starting lineup for the game which eventually saw Leverkusen crowned Bundesliga champions.

While reports claim Keita will receive a ‘substantial fine’, an official statement from the club has revealed he will serve a suspension. Keita will be not be selected for games for the rest of this season, while he will also be banned from training with the team and featuring in the dressing room.

Bremen director Clemens Fritz said: “Naby’s behaviour cannot be tolerated for us as a club. With this action, he let his team down in a tense sporting and personnel situation and placed himself above the team.

“We can’t allow that. At this stage of the season we need full focus on the remaining games and a team that is very close together. There was therefore no alternative to our measures.”

The former Liverpool midfielder joined the club as a free agent on a three-year deal in the summer of 2023, following a poor spell at Anfield.

The 29-year-old was keen to defend himself and his professionalism, taking to Instagram to share his point of view. He said: “Ever since I arrived at this magnificent club, I have always shown my professionalism.

“I have always tried to help the club and the great supporters, especially during this time of poor results. Since the start of my career, I have never had problems with my discipline and have always shown an exemplary attitude. I will not accept any person trying to tarnish my image.

“To the supporters, I have always worked hard in training to get the right result at the weekend. In training, I can only give my best.”

Keita has played just 106 minutes for Bremen since moving back to the Bundesliga last summer and now will be unable to secure any further game time during the current campaign.