MANCHESTER UNITED flop Erik ten Hag picked up where he left off as his first match as Bayer Leverkusen boss ended in a massive defeat to a YOUTH side.
The Dutch gaffer was sacked by United in October after winning just three of his opening nine league matches, with a defeat to West Ham being the final straw.
Ten Hag returned to the beautiful game in May when he was announced as Xabi Alonso’s successor at Leverkusen.
But the manager’s first game at the helm of the German giants ended in disaster – despite being 1/100 to win.
Leverkusen travelled all the way to Brazil for Ten Hag’s debut, with Leverkusen going up against Flamengo.
However, it was their U20s side and not the seniors on the field.
But that didn’t stop the Samba kids from tearing Leverkusen apart in a 5-1 thrashing.
Ten Hag named senior stars including Mark Flekken, Jonas Hoffman and Victor Boniface in his starting XI while sticking with predecessor Alonso’s title-winning 3-4-2-1 formation.
And he could only watch with a grimace as Flamengo took a second-minute lead before doubling the score in the 10th.
Ten Hag ended up taking Flekken and Boniface off in the 36th minute.
But Flamengo put their foot on the gas and netted a third moments later before making it 4-0 seconds before the half-time whistle.
Ten Hag didn’t make a single further sub at the break.
And he paid for his reluctance when Flamengo netted a fifth less than 10 minutes into the second half.
On the hour mark, Ten Hag decided to remove every single player – including the two who came on in the first 45.
It saw a host of senior stars including former Bundesliga champions Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo and Patrick Schick take to the field – making for a total of 13 changes.
But it was youngster Montrell Culbreath who pulled one back for Leverkusen in the 71st minute.
The Germans appeared more settled as the seconds ticked down, yet they were unable to find a second way through to goal.
It was certainly not the start Ten Hag was hoping for, despite Leverkusen losing key men like Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah.
The Dutchman has been able to spend on the likes of Jarrell Quansah and Malik Tillman to strengthen his side.
Yet neither were in Friday’s squad as Leverkusen left Rio de Janeiro with their tales between their legs.
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