Alonso plays down confrontation between Boniface and Buendia

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso has played down Victor Boniface’s furious reaction against a teammate during the team’s Bundesliga win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Boniface lashed out at Argentine winger Emiliano Buendía after they got in each other’s way during stoppage time in Saturday’s 4-1 win, and he had to be calmed by teammates. Jeremie Frimpong tried reasoning with Boniface, who was also followed closely by Alonso as he left the field after the game.

“I spoke with Boni,” Alonso said at the post-game press conference. “I don’t have all the details, but Boni wanted to shoot, it can happen. We don’t want to make something big out of something so small. We’re staying calm. On Monday we’ll keep going again.”

Both Boniface and Buendia were substitutes and the goals were already scored by the time they went on.

Buendia joined in the winter transfer window from Aston Villa while Boniface has endured an unsettling period, first with a thigh injury sustained with Nigeria in November, then as the subject of a reported 70-million-euro transfer to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr that broke down.

Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick appeared to criticize Boniface when the negotiations with Al-Nassr were ongoing when he said he himself still had “ambitions to play at a top level.”

Leverkusen was apparently open to letting Boniface leave and he reportedly remains a target for Premier League club Newcastle.

Boniface has 21 goals in 37 Bundesliga games since joining from Union Saint-Gilloise in 2023, but his impact this season has been limited because of injury and Schick’s availability. Boniface has 10 goals across all competitions this season, compared to 21 last season.

Leverkusen next faces Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League, first in Munich on Wednesday with the return game in Leverkusen on March 11, with a home game against struggling Werder Bremen in between.