Victor Boniface wins Bundesliga Player of the Month for August!
The Nigerian striker beat the likes of Harry Kane and Kevin Behrens to the prize, which was created by the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga in 2018/19, in cooperation with the Bundesliga's official licensing partner, EA Sports.
The award is decided through a two-stage selection process that considers both the players' individual performance data and a vote by fans and experts.
The August award is based on performances from Matchdays 1 and 2 of the season.
Winner
Victor Boniface
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso could hardly have hoped for a better immediate impact from his new centre-forward. The 22-year-old enjoyed a fantastic start to his Bundesliga career, creating Jeremie Frimpong's opener against Leipzig as Die Werkself notched an impressive 3-2 victory before finding the back of the net twice himself in the 3-0 stroll versus Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The Nigerian registered more shots than any other Bundesliga player in August – 14. On only the second matchday alone, against Gladbach, he fired off 11 attempts on Jonas Omlin’s goal, as many as Harry Kane managed across Matchdays 1 and 2. Boniface’s sheer hard work has left a great impression too: his 54 challenges contested are the highest in the Bundesliga, while his fierce pressing has helped him win 43 percent of them. The striker's performances also won him the Rookie of the Month award, meaning he is the first player since Erling Haaland in 2020 to be named Player and Rookie of the same month.
August's other nominees
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
Davies was one of only three outfield players at Bayern Munich to appear in the full 90 minutes of their opening two Bundesliga fixtures. Thomas Tuchel’s penchant for rotating has not affected the Canadian, whose dizzying speed and superb current form make him irreplaceable. The champions racked up seven goals over the first two matchdays – and Davies provided assists for three of them. The roaming left-back has wasted no time in linking up with new striker Kane, who has scored twice from Davies provisions. Youngster Mathys Tel was the other beneficiary.
Nobody in the Bundesliga has managed to match his figure of three assists after two matches of the season. That is no coincidence. Davies set up 10 shots in those games, more than anyone else in the champions’ ranks. It cannot be forgotten amid his spectacular start to the season just how much he contributes defensively, either. His 40 attempted challenges mark a team-high tally across Matchdays 1 and 2.
Watch: Alphonso Davies - August POTM nominee
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Wolfsburg’s Wind was the surprise co-leader at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts at the end of August, with four goals. Wind is the first player in his club’s history to score four Bundesliga goals across the first two matchdays. Indeed, the young Dane is Wolfsburg’s only scorer in that time.
Wind is not only a clinical finisher; his positioning and great rapport with his teammates enable him get into spaces from which he can find the net. His total Expected Goals (XG) value of 2.5 for the month was more than anyone in the Bundesliga. Moreover, all seven of his goal attempts were on target.
Watch: Jonas Wind - August POTM nominee
Sitting pretty alongside Wind at the head of charts is Behrens, who scored all four of his goals with his head. Since records began in 1992/93, no player has ever scored four headed goals across the first two matchdays. He's not as accurate as Wind - two of his six shots in August were off target. However, his four shots that were on target went in.
Behrens started the Bundesliga season in fine style, with a Matchday 1 hat-trick against Mainz. It was only the second hat-trick in Bundesliga history by a Union Berlin player, after Joel Pohjanpalo (in April 2021 vs. Werder Bremen). His hat-trick of headers, meanwhile, is a feat last seen some 25 years ago. Bremen’s Markus Schroth scored the last headed hat-trick in December 1997 (in a 4-2 win at Karlsruher SC). No wonder Union ended the month atop the Bundesliga table.
Watch: Kevin Behrens - August POTM nominee
Kane’s move to Bayern was the story of the summer. Bayern's new No.9 needed no time at all to live up the hype, providing a fourth-minute assist for Leroy Sane on Matchday 1, before scoring himself. He then found the back of the net twice on Matchday 2. He is now only the third Bayern player in Bundesliga history to score three times in his first two Bundesliga appearances, after Adolfo Valencia (1993) and Gustav Jung (1967).
With three goals, Kane is Bayern's top scorer after two matches. And with four direct goal involvements, the England captain was level with Behrens and Wind as the most creative player in the Bundesliga in August. That is only natural given how tirelessly Kane has been working for his new employers. His 11 shots on goal are the second best in the Bundesliga.
Watch: Harry Kane - August POTM nominee
Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig)
Almost nobody is exempt from Marco Rose’s tinkering at Leipzig - Henrichs being only one of three outfield players not to miss a minute of the club’s opening two Bundesliga fixtures. He has been key at both ends of the pitch, with the Germany international winning a massive 71 percent of his challenges in that time – more than any other Leipzig player.
The right-back also rattled off a team-leading eight shots on goal over the opening two fixtures, scoring against VfB Stuttgart on Matchday 2. His relentless pressing saw him block Alexander Nübel's clearance and direct it straight into the goal to equalise for 1-1 - and quite literally kick-start an incredible comeback as Leipzig would run out 5-1 winners.
Watch: Benjamin Henrichs - August POTM nominee
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