Erik ten Hag brutally sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just TWO games in charge

Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just two Bundesliga games in charge. The job in Germany was his first since being dismissed by Manchester United, but it has been short lived.

Ten Hag saw his side lose their opener against Hoffenheim before drawing to Werder Bremen at the weekend and the club's hierarchy have opted for a change. The Dutchman's pre-season had not inspired confidence as the squad came to terms with a number of key departures.

The ex-Ajax boss was looking to rebuild his reputation in Germany but, after winning in the first round of the German Cup, he picked up just one point from a possible six.

Leverkusen surrendered a two-goal lead against ten-man Bremen at the weekend to leave with just a point and, despite having little time to implement his ideas, Ten Hag has been shown the door.

A club statement read: "Bayer 04 Leverkusen have parted ways with head coach Erik ten Hag. This was decided by the shareholders' committee, the club’s supervisory body, on the recommendation of the management of Bayer 04. Training will be overseen by the current backroom staff on an interim basis."

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Captain Robert Andrich said after their Bremen collapse: “If we lead 3-1 and are a man up, we must take three points. We were too wild and made many mistakes after the sending-off. We must start playing as a team immediately, otherwise we won’t win any matches."

The German club's hierarchy refused to back their manager after their collapse at the weekend, which was seen as a damning sign, and are again looking for a new manager having seen the hugely successful Xabi Alonso leave for Real Madrid in the summer.

Leverkusen have seen the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and Florian Wirtz leave the club this summer, recouping huge fees, but leaving them lacking in quality and Ten Hag ultimately paid the price.

It is another major blow for the ex-United boss, who saw his tenure in Manchester end poorly. He was controversially backed after winning the FA Cup in 2024 but it quickly became apparent that the Ineos bosses needed to make a change and he was sacked in October last year.

Ten Hag also copped criticism for his transfer record, which saw him spend more than £600m on the likes of Antony, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana - only to see them all fail to hit expectation. Several of his signings are already being ushered out of the club.

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