Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface scored after coming off the bench as Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham 2-0 at home on Thursday in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Needing stoppage time winners from Patrick Schick to win both legs of their last 16 tie with Qarabag, Leverkusen were dominant but had failed to break through against the dogged visitors.
Victor Boniface – who had just returned from a four-month injury layoff – gained the trust of Alonso as a cameo and scored with a superb header in the first minute of added time for his fifth goal in the UEFA Europa League.
It was 113 days since his last goal at Bochum as Boniface leapt highest to take a fantastic header and give Leverkusen the 2-0 advantage going into the second leg on Thursday in London.
“It’s not luck, it’s for a reason,” Alonso told reporters of his side’s habit of winning late.
“When it was 0-0 you could try and overreact and lose control while trying to score. We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to insist and we wanted to keep going.”
The victory continues what could be a stunning week for Leverkusen, who are 16 points clear of Bayern Munich in Germany and can win their first Bundesliga title by beating Werder Bremen at home on Sunday.
“The anticipation is huge — it couldn’t be bigger”, Alonso told reporters.
“We have a chance on Sunday — if we win, we’re champions. We need to step on the gas and it would be something very special to achieve.”
Fellow Super Eagles Nathan Tella was also a late sub for Leverkusen.
The Bundesliga table toppers have now gone 42 games unbeaten in all competitions this season.
