Nothing new with ETH: Ten Hag loses on his debut with Lever

He may have moved to the Bundesliga, but good old Erik ten Hag brought habits from his Man United days with him, as his Bayer Leverkusen lost 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim in the opening game of the new Bundesliga season.

This way, the Dutchman experienced a nightmarish debut on Lever's bench in the German top flight and, based on what his players showed today, he didn't deserve anything better.

The home crew threatened only twice, both times in the first half, and both times after free kicks. Jarell Quansah turned the first chance into an opener, and that was it.

On the other hand, the visitors were much more courageous and were rewarded with a complete comeback behind Fisnik Asllani's 25th-minute leveller and Tim Lemperle's 52nd-minute winner.

Of course, we should judge neither Ten Hag nor Lever after just one match, but their performance today was as poor as it gets.

Erik ten Hag's crew opened the game in the best possible way - scoring from its first chance. Alejandro Grimaldo sent a lovely free-kick cross in the box, and Lever's newcomer from Liverpool, Jarell Quansah, found the net with a header, scoring on his debut.

Still, the visitors refused to surrender, and their brave approach paid off in the 25th minute when Fisnik Asllani levelled after Hoffenheim too easily entered Lever's box.

Until the break, Bayer had one more decent chance, which was practically a replay of their opener. Only, this time, Koki Machida was close to scoring an own goal following Grimaldo's free-kick cross - though Quansah was also near the ball - and Hoffenheim's keeper Oliver Baumann managed to stop that effort.

Ruthless Bavarians dismantle Leipzig, as Olise, Diaz & Kane run riots

The entire BayArena probably expected the home team to attack from the ref's first whistle in the second half, but it was completely the opposite. Hoffenheim rushed towards Lever's goal, and it took them just seven minutes to make a comeback and take the lead!

Asllani took the role of an assistant this time, while Tim Lemperle sent a precise and powerful effort from a distance, finding Lukas Hradecky's bottom right corner. Erik ten Hag and Leverkusen fans were stunned!

Even though his team entered the final ten minutes of the match being a goal down, the Dutch tactician had made only a single substitution (back during the break) when Ernest Poku replaced Arthur. It seemed that the former Man United boss had no solution for Hoffenheim and had no idea of how to turn the tables and avoid a defeat.

Despite chasing the rivals' lead, in the second half, Bayer made only three attempts - and none on target - by the final five minutes of the game. And that's far from enough to deserve at least a point. Hence, a defeat was inevitable.

BUNDESLIGA - MATCHDAY 1

Friday

Bayern - RB Leipzig 6-0 (3-0)

/Olise 27, 42, Diaz 32, Kane 64, 74, 78/

Satuday

Eintracht Frankfurt - Werder 4-1 (2-0)

/Uzun 22, Bahoya 25, 47, Knauff 70 - Njinmah 48/

Freiburg - Augsburg 1-3 (0-3)

/Grifo 58 pen - Giannoulis 32, Matsima 42, Wolf 45+2/

Heidenheim - Wolfsburg 1-3 (1-1)

/Scienza 29 - Skov Olsen 20, Svanberg 66, Amoura 87 pen/

Leverkusen - Hoffenheim 1-2 (1-1)

/Quansah 6 - Asllani 25, Lemperle 52/

Union Berlin - Stuttgart 2-1 (2-0)

/Ansah 19, 45+4 - Tomas 86/

19.30: (4.60) St.Pauli (3.85) Dortmund (1.75)

Sunday

16.30: (1.90) Mainz (3.75) Koln (4.25)

18.30: (1.87) M' gladbach (3.85) Hamburger (4.00)

***odds are subject to change***