Nigerian international Victor Boniface was the hero on Tuesday night, scoring the only goal of the match as Bayer Leverkusen secured a 1-0 victory over AC Milan in a tense Champions League encounter at the BayArena.
Leverkusen started brightly, with an early chance in the 3rd minute when Piero Hincapie’s powerful header was expertly saved by Milan’s goalkeeper, Mike Maignan.
The home side continued to push for an opener, and in the 21st minute, Boniface seemed to have broken the deadlock with a clinical strike into the bottom corner after a brilliant cross from Jeremie Frimpong.
However, VAR intervened, and the goal was disallowed for offside, leaving the home fans frustrated.
As the match wore on, both teams had opportunities to take control. AC Milan’s Tammy Abraham had a penalty shout in the 41st minute, but the referee waved play on, much to the visitors’ dismay.
Leverkusen kept the pressure on, with Florian Wirtz and Frimpong forcing saves from Maignan early in the second half.
Finally, in the 51st minute, Boniface capitalized on a rebound after Maignan made a save, slotting the ball into an empty net to give Leverkusen the lead.
Despite AC Milan’s best efforts to equalise, including a stunning shot from Theo Hernandez that rattled the crossbar in the 82nd minute, Leverkusen held firm to secure all three points.
