Erik ten Hag's Bayer Leverkusen Debut Turns Into Disaster With Crushing Friendly Loss

Erik ten Hag's debut as Bayer Leverkusen's new manager got off to a disastrous start when his team suffered a shocking 5–1 defeat against Flamengo's Under-20 squad on Friday.

Ten Hag arrived at Bayer Leverkusen during the summer transfer window, marking his return to management following his dismissal from Manchester United in October 2024, and aims to build upon Xabi Alonso's remarkably successful period at the BayArena.

His inaugural pre-season fixture took Leverkusen to Brazil to face a Flamengo youth team, and the outcome couldn't have been more disappointing as Ten Hag's squad was demolished 5–1.

Half a dozen senior players were in the starting lineup, featuring forward Victor Boniface and newly signed keeper Mark Flekken, but Leverkusen conceded within the opening two minutes and found themselves trailing 2–0 before the 10-minute mark following an Arthur own goal.

Ten Hag implemented tactical changes every half-hour throughout the match, clearly emphasizing player conditioning over the scoreline, but was shocked to witness his team heading into halftime trailing 4–0 after strikes from Matheus Gonçalves and Pedro Leão.

Gusttavo added a fifth goal ten minutes into the second half, prompting Ten Hag to make another series of substitutions. Edmond Tapsoba, Alejandro Grimaldo, Patrick Schick, Nathan Tella and Granit Xhaka entered the fray, and only then did Leverkusen begin to assert dominance in the match.

17-year-old winger Montrell Culbreath scored Leverkusen's sole goal in the 70th minute.

"The scoreline appears terrible, but I'm not particularly concerned with pre-season results," Ten Hag commented post-match. "We should never suffer defeat, especially by such a margin, but my priority was avoiding player injuries. It would have been preferable to schedule this match at a later date.

"The final 30 minutes showed promise, there were positive indicators."