Master of dismissals – Ten Hag fired after 3 games

Erik ten Hag has been relieved of his duties as head coach of Bayer Leverkusen after just three matches in charge.

The former Manchester United manager had joined the German club this summer on a two-year deal, stepping in for Xabi Alonso, who left to become Carlo Ancelotti’s successor at Real Madrid.

Leverkusen kicked off their 2025-26 campaign with a 4-0 DFB Pokal victory over fourth-tier Sonnenhof Grossaspach, benefiting from their opponents being reduced to nine men. However, the Bundesliga season proved more challenging: they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim and, most recently, squandered a 3-1 lead against Werder Bremen—despite Bremen playing with ten men following Niklas Stark’s red card—to settle for a 3-3 draw at the Weserstadion.

The club has undergone major changes this summer. Star players Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong departed for Liverpool, while captain Granit Xhaka moved to Premier League newcomers Sunderland. Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and midfielder Amine Adli also left for Monaco and Bournemouth, respectively.

Ten Hag’s tenure at United ended in October 2024 with the club languishing in 14th place in the Premier League. During his time in England, he secured two trophies: the 2023 Carabao Cup and the 2024 FA Cup. Yet, United’s eighth-place finish in 2023-24 had already marked their lowest in the Premier League era, followed by an even worse 15th-place finish the following season.

Before his stint in England, Ten Hag enjoyed a highly successful four-and-a-half-year spell at Ajax, winning three Eredivisie titles and leading the Dutch side to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19.