Erik ten Hag is not worried after Bayer Leverkusen’s painful friendly defeat against Flamengo’s reserves on Friday. In the coach’s unofficial debut, the Bundesliga team lost 5-1.
“The result looks bad, but I’m not really interested in the results in the preparation,” Ten Hag said after the surprising defeat in Rio de Janeiro to BILD.
“We should never lose, especially not by such a large margin. But it was also important for me not to lose any players. Maybe it would have been better to play the match later.”
Ten Hag could not yet field his strongest eleven against Flamengo’s reserves. Malik Tillman, who was taken over from PSV, is not yet part of the team, and newcomers Jarell Quansah and Christian Kofane did not participate after only a few training sessions.
Flamengo’s talents, on the other hand, are in the middle of the season and left Ten Hag’s team without a chance. There are no further friendly matches for Bayer Leverkusen in Brazil. Ten Hag and his team will mainly train, alternated with social activities and tourist outings.
Bayer Leverkusen’s first league match of the season is in just over a month on August 23 against TSG Hoffenheim. A week earlier, the number two of the previous Bundesliga season will already play in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach from the Regionalliga Südwest.