Victor Boniface came off the bench to score a late winner as Bayer Leverkusen rounded off their pre-season with a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday.

The Nigerian striker entered the pitch alongside Nathan Tella with just 10 minutes left on the clock, and wasted no time making his presence felt.

Leverkusen made a flying start when Ibrahim Mazda put them ahead in the opening minute — the kind of electric opening that sets the tone for an entire contest. Newcastle, however, refused to fold and pulled level through Malick Thiaw deep into first-half stoppage time.

With the match seemingly heading for a draw, Boniface had other ideas. The striker collected the ball, beat his marker with a sharp dribble, and slotted past the goalkeeper in the 82nd minute to hand Leverkusen all three points in what proved to be a fitting end to their pre-season preparations.