It was always going to be a difficult opening assignment for Erik ten Hag as manager of Bayer Leverkusen. He experienced a crushing loss to Flamengo’s U20 squad in Rio de Janeiro. Leverkusen is currently taking part in a pre-season match in South America. Sadly, the match ended in a dispiriting 5-1 loss, putting fans’ hopes on ice. It was a disappointing start for Ten Hag, who recently replaced Xabi Alonso as head coach.
Yet Ten Hag picked a strong XI to open his tenure with. It featured noteworthy names such as Victor Boniface and goalkeeper Mark Flekken, as well as thrilling 17-year-old prospect Axel Tape. The team’s performance quickly deteriorated. Lorran got Flamengo on the board right away, getting the scoring opened in the second minute by taking advantage of a quick counter-attack. Just eight minutes later, Leverkusen were 2-0 down after Arthur’s error when trying to clear the ball.
The situation worsened for Leverkusen as Matheus Goncalves headed in a cross from the left before halftime, extending Flamengo’s lead to 3-0. Ten Hag’s side failed to recover from this early blow. They quickly lost control, going down 2-0 when Pedro Leão doubled their lead after a long-range shot that deflected off the post. In all that unrest, Leverkusen’s keeper Flekken was pulled at halftime after just 36 minutes of play! Niklas Lomb soon took care to make himself his replacement.
Defensive injuries contributed to the deficit, but in response Ten Hag substituted everyone (okay, ten changes in total) just after Flamengo scored their fifth goal. Despite these adjustments, Bayer Leverkusen could only manage to score a late consolation goal through Montrell Culbreath, leaving the final score at 5-1.
This fixture epitomised the problems ahead for Ten Hag. Lastly, it cast a light on Bayer Leverkusen’s historic success as the first Bundesliga club to go on a pre-season tour in South America this summer. The team prepares for next season. Ten Hag will be sure to take a deep look at this defeat and make the right changes to increase results on the pitch.
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