Boniface battles ex-Arsenal captain, West Ham midfielder, 6 others for UEL Goal of the Group Stage 

Victor Boniface's ferocious strike in Bayer Leverkusen's 5-1 win over Qarabag at the BayArena has been nominated for the UEFA Europa League Goal of the Group Stage.

He is se to battle former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's strike for Marseille in their 4-3 win over Ajax, Lucas Paquetá's efforts for West Ham in their 2-1 loss to Olympiacos and the 2-1 victory over Freiburg.

Other nominees are the free kick goal of Magnus Wolff Eikrem for Molde in the 5-1 win over Häcken, Thijs Dallinga's effort for Toulouse in the 3-2 win over Liverpool, Santi Comesaña strike for Villarreal in the Spanish side's home win over Panathinaikos and Djibril Sidibé goal for AEK Athens in the  3-2 win over Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

Completing the list are Lorenz Assignon's goal for Rennes in their home to Villarreal and his teammate Ludovic Blas' long-range effort in the French side's first-leg win over Maccabi Haifa.

Boniface has yet again been one of the stand-out players in the Europa League this term, scoring 4 goals in five games,  two less than the competition's leading top scorer João Pedro of Brighton.

With Bayer Leverkusen being excused from being involved in the knockout round play-off having finished atop their group, the Nigeria international will have to wait to add to his tally in the tournament.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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