Nathan Tella came off the bench while Victor Boniface watched on as Leverkusen came from behind to beat Freiburg 2-1. Patrik Schick’s 76th-minute winner lifted them into the Bundesliga top four.
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Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to beat Freiburg 2-1 at the BayArena on Sunday, with Nathan Tella coming on as a 59th-minute substitute. Victor Boniface was an unused substitute.
The win moves Leverkusen into the top four on 13 points, level with Freiburg but ahead on goal difference and just one point behind leaders Bayern Munich. They’ve won their last three league games and have four wins and a draw from their last five.
Freiburg came in unbeaten and struck first. Derry Scherhant scored in the 14th minute, finishing a move created by Niklas Beste and Philipp Treu. Bundesliga punters can also read how to get the Bet9ja promotion code before the next round.
Leverkusen replied almost at once. Ibrahim Maza equalised in the 19th minute after good work from Moussa Diaby and Patrik Schick.
The game stayed tight after the break. Then Schick struck the winner in the 76th minute, tapping in after a brilliant solo run from Maza near the corner line.
The goal made Schick the first Leverkusen player ever to score in each of the first six Bundesliga matches of a season. Maza deserves credit too, because his equaliser got the hosts back into it and his run created the winner.
Tella came on in the 59th minute with the game still level. It was only his second league appearance of the season, so every minute counts. Fans backing Nigerian players in Germany can look at Bet9ja’s current promo code.
Boniface remained an unused substitute and has played only five minutes this season. He headed straight down the tunnel after being left out of the 4-3 win at Mainz, and sporting director Simon Rolfes called it a one-time thing. Coach Carles MartÃnez spoke to him the next morning.
So where does that leave the Super Eagles striker? Leverkusen are winning without him, and Schick, Maza and Diaby are all producing. Every league minute is a chance for Tella and Boniface to show MartÃnez they belong.
Next up for Leverkusen is a trip to Hoffenheim on Sunday, October 25. A win there would keep the pressure on Bayern.
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📌 Did You Know?
- Before Sunday, Schick had already matched the Leverkusen club record of five goals in the first five league games, held by Stefan Kießling and Dimitar Berbatov.
- Leverkusen opened this Bundesliga season with a shock 3-2 loss to newly promoted Elversberg.
- Three days before the Freiburg game, Leverkusen beat Poland’s Lech Poznań 4-0 in the Europa League, with Schick scoring twice.
- Boniface joined Leverkusen from Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer of 2023 for around €22 million.
- Boniface had knee surgery in January 2026 after a loan spell at Werder Bremen.
- Boniface reached double figures for goals across all competitions in each of his first two seasons at Leverkusen.
