Erik ten Hag embarrassed in first Bayer Leverkusen match

Erik ten Hag took charge of his first match Bayer Leverkusen match on Friday and it was a disappointing moment for the former Manchester United manager.

Bayer Leverkusen faced Flamengo’s youth side in their first pre-season game under Erik ten Hag and they were conceed five goals. After just 45 minutes, the Brazilian youth side had completely embarrassed the former Bundesliga champions.

Flamengo’s U20s incredibly went in at half-time of their friendly 4-0 up at Estadio da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The match ended 5-1 as Erik ten Hag’s first game in charge of the former Bundesliga champions ends in disappointment.

Erik ten Hag speaking to Bayer 04 Leverkusen players during the friendly match against Flamengo U20. (Photo by Jörg Schüler/Bayer 04 Leverkusen via Getty Images)

Ten Hag’s starting line-up wasn’t devoid of quality either, with Victor Boniface, Amine Adli and Jonas Hoffman regular starters. Summer signing from Brentford, Mark Flekken, was in goal too.

However, Flamengo U20s’ took the lead after only two minutes. Lorran found the back of the net before an own goal from Arthur doubled the Brazilian team lead.

Matheus Goncalves and Pedro Leao netted two more just before the break, to pile the misery on Leverkusen.

Soon after half-time though, things managed to get even worse. Substitute Gusttavo Silva scored a fifth for Flamengo’s youth side, putting the German giants FIVE goals behind.

Ten Hag was forced to make some changes on the hour mark. Granit Xhaka, who has been linked with Sunderland, Patrik Schick, Alejandro Grimaldo, Nathan Tella and Edmond Tapsoba came on.

Robert Andrich, Exequiel Palacios and Lukas Hradecky were also introduced as Leverkusen’s main men looked to save the day.

And they did make a difference, with them getting a goal back and keeping Flamengo U20s at bay, losing 5-1 in the end.

Leverkusen’s next friendly comes on July 27 when they face VFL Bochum before they take on Dutch side Fortuna on August 1.

The Bundesliga season then starts on August 22, with Ten Hag’s first league match coming against Hoffenheim.