Boniface starts as Erik ten Hag first Leverkusen game ends in 5-1 defeat to U-20 side

The Erik ten Hag reign at Bayer Leverkusen started on a disastrous note, as they suffered a 5-0 loss to Flamengo’s U-20 squad. 

The former Manchester United boss was appointed head coach of Die Werkself after Xabi Alonso left the role to complete his move to Real Madrid. 

Flamengo U-20 started like a house on fire, scoring as early as the second minute and adding three more in the first half. They scored one more in the second half before substitute Montreal Culbreath, 17, grabbed a consolation goal for Leverkusen. 

As is the norm with preseason friendlies, especially early into them, the matchday squad is typically a mixture of seasoned professionals, with youngsters coming up through the ranks. 

This was indeed the case for Erik ten Hag’s side, as they started with an average age of 21.5, only one year older than Flamengo U-20’s 20.5. 

While seasoned stars like Victor Boniface, Jonas Hofmann, Amine Adli and new signing Mark Flekken started for Leverkusen, the rest of the team were teenagers.

It might be factual to say that Ten Hag led a side in the German top flight to a 5-1 defeat to a U-20 side; the reality is that he effectively fielded teenagers with a handful of proven stars like Boniface and Hoffman. 

Flamengo U-20 did not score any more goals after he made a host of changes at the hour mark, leaving a team closer to what one would expect in a Bundesliga game. In fact, Leverkusen's goal came after the changes.