Leverkusen sack Erik ten Hag after only two Bundesliga games

Bayer Leverkusen have sacked Erik ten Hag after only three games in charge of the club.

Although Ten Hag won his first match in charge – a 4-0 victory over fourth-tier SG in the first round of the German Cup – he oversaw a troubled start to the new league season. Leverkusen lost their opening game, a 2-1 home defeat by Hoffenheim, and then let a two-goal lead slip against 10-man Werder Bremen this weekend.

Disharmony was clear on the pitch at Bremen as players argued over who would take a second-half penalty. Erik ten Hag described the on-field dispute between Exequiel Palacios and Patrick Schick – who eventually scored from the spot – as “unacceptable”.

The decision was eventually made by captain Robert Andrich. “I don’t want to sound too negative, but we’re between a rock and hard place,” he said after the game, according to The Times . “There are too many people just playing for themselves.”