Boniface scores twice again as five-star Leverkusen crush Darmstadt

BERLIN : New signing Victor Boniface scored twice for the second consecutive week as Bayer Leverkusen blew Darmstadt 98 away 5-1 on Saturday to make it three wins out of three league games for a perfect Bundesliga start.

The 22-year-old Nigerian, who struck twice in last week's win over Borussia Moenchengladbach while also netting in the German Cup once, joined a month ago from Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium but has hit the ground running.

Boniface opened his account with a superb solo run and chipped in his finish in the 21st minute after driving past three defenders.

Darmstadt levelled through Oscar Vilhelmsson's close range header but Xabi Alonso's team went back in front four minutes after the restart through Exequiel Palacios.

Boniface then bagged his second goal of the afternoon, slipping into the box and flicking the ball past the keeper from a tight angle after a quick passing move.

Jonas Hofmann's 20-metre drive made it 4-1, killing off any chances of a Darmstadt comeback before substitute Adam Hlozek slid in to add another and keep his team on a maximum nine points from three matches.