Francis Onyeka strengthened his case for close attention from Nigeria manager Eric Chelle with an energetic performance for SV Elversberg against his parent side, Bayer Leverkusen, in their opening Bundesliga fixture.
The 19-year-old operated as the attacking midfielder in Vincent Wagner’s 4-2-3-1 formation at the Ursapharm-Arena an der Kaiserlinde on Saturday.
Onyeka made his presence felt almost immediately, setting up Lukas Petkov for the opening goal after just eight minutes. The strike marked Elversberg’s first goal in their first Bundesliga appearance. The promoted team extended its advantage only a minute later, with Cole Campbell making it 2-0 in the ninth minute.
Elversberg continued to surprise one of Germany’s established clubs, and David Mokwa increased the home side’s lead shortly after the interval. Leverkusen responded with goals from Patrik Schick and Christian Kofane, but the visitors could not complete the comeback as Elversberg secured a 3-2 win.
The victory made Onyeka’s Bundesliga debut a particularly memorable one and further intensified interest in his prospects on the international stage.
