Boniface battles Man Utd, Roma, Bayer Leverkusen stars for UEL Player of the Week

Nigerian striker Victor Boniface has been recognized for his outstanding display during Royale Union Saint-Gilloise's six-goal thriller against Union Berlin on Thursday, with European football governing body UEFA  shortlisting him for the Europa League Player of the Week for the round of 16, first leg ties.

Boniface enhanced his burgeoning reputation with a brace against the German opponents to take his tally in the Europa League to five goals.

The former Bodo/Glimt man is now the joint-top scorer in the competition, along with a certain Marcus Rashford, who continued his rich vein of form by getting on the score sheet for Manchester United in their 4-1 rout of Real Betis.

In a flawless performance, Boniface opened the scoring with a long-range strike which hit the back of the net, albeit via a deflection in the 28th minute and got his second of the evening with a brilliant left-footed finish at minute 72.

In terms of goal involvement, the Royale Union Saint-Gilloise number 7 has totaled six in the Europa League, bettered only by Trabzonspor's Anastasios Bakasetas.

Against Union Berlin, Boniface registered a team-high two shots on target, won two aerial duels, was accurate in 71.4 percent of his passes, and won a game-high four fouls.

He is on the shortlist of four for the individual award alongside Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, Roma striker Paulo Dybala and Bayer Leverkusen's Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : uefa.com 

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