Bayer Leverkusen have sacked manager Erik Ten Hag after just two Bundesliga matches in charge, the club announced on Monday.
Breaking news from German football. Bayer Leverkusen have today sacked Ten Hag, whose appointment had generated considerable doubts among the board from the outset, both due to the team’s pre-season form and their poor start to the Bundesliga campaign, where they failed to win either of their opening two matches.
“Bayer Leverkusen 04 have relieved head coach Erik ten Hag of his duties with immediate effect. The assistant coaching staff will take temporary charge of training,” read the statement released by the club.
The Dutchman’s reign lasted less than two months, a far cry from the optimism surrounding his arrival in Leverkusen on July 6th. He was tasked with filling the void left by Xabi Alonso, but was not even given the chance to try, as the club lost faith.
Named Leverkusen manager on July 1, Ten Hag’s first match in charge was a 5-1 drubbing by Flamengo’s under-20s team in a friendly in Brazil. After a 4-0 win over fourth-tier Sonnenhof Grossaspach in their German Cup opener, Leverkusen claimed one point from their first two Bundesliga fixtures.
Leverkusen let a one-goal lead slip to lose 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim and on Saturday conceded two late goals against a 10-man Werder Bremen to draw 3-3, having led 2-0 and 3-1.
On Sunday, German outlets Bild and Kicker both reported Ten Hag was facing the sack, despite his short tenure at the club. Ten Hag was tasked with bedding in more than a dozen new signings ahead of this season, including several young players.
The three most expensive signings in the club’s history – Malik Tilmann, Jarell Quansah and Eliesse Ben Seghir – all arrived this summer, for a combined cost of 102 million euros ($120 million) plus bonuses.