Bayer Leverkusen announced the dismissal of their coach Erik ten Hag after only two matches in the German Bundesliga, as the draw earlier this week at Werder Bremen’s stadium was not enough to save the Dutch coach from being fired.

Leverkusen lost their opening league match 1-2 at home against Hoffenheim, putting ten Hag under pressure early in his tenure with the team. The 3-3 draw on Saturday with ten Bremen players ended his brief coaching period with the club.

Simon Rolfes, Leverkusen’s sporting director, said in a statement, “This decision was not easy for us. No one wanted to take this step.”

He added, “However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team in this way is not possible.”

Ten Hag, who had been away from coaching since his dismissal from Manchester United last October, replaced Xabi Alonso in May after the Spaniard left to manage Real Madrid.

Leverkusen finished second in the league last season, after Alonso led them to a domestic double in the 2023-2024 season, achieving the club’s first Bundesliga title without losing a single match.

Ten Hag’s task to replicate Alonso’s successful period with the club became more difficult amid the departure of Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Amin Adli, Jonathan Tah, and Granit Xhaka, among others, at the end of the season.

His tenure started with a 4-0 win over fourth-division side SSV Ulm 1846 in the first round of the German Cup, but with the team already five points behind league leaders Bayern Munich and the Champions League approaching, ten Hag’s time with the team was effectively over.

Fernando Carro, Leverkusen’s CEO, said, “Parting ways at this early stage of the season is painful, but we felt it was necessary.”

He added, “We remain committed to achieving our goals this season, and to do so, we need the best possible conditions at all levels and throughout the first team.”

Ten Hag said before the Bremen match that he is not Harry Potter and does not have a magic wand to immediately improve things, also mentioning the last days of the transfer market, but that will no longer be the Dutch coach’s concern.

Ten Hag became the first coach in Bundesliga history to be dismissed after only two matches into the new season, although there have been shorter coaching spells in German football.

Jörg Berger coached Arminia Bielefeld in 2009 when the team was battling relegation before the last match of the season. The team drew with Hannover to finish last, ending Berger’s tenure.

Ten Hag is not the only former Manchester United coach to lose his job in recent days, as José Mourinho parted ways with Fenerbahçe, and Ole Gunnar Solskjær left Beşiktaş.

Ten Hag (55) had a successful period coaching Ajax, winning the Dutch league title three times, and also won the FA Cup and the English League Cup with Manchester United before being dismissed when the team was 14th in the Premier League standings.