Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just three matches in charge.

The Dutchman was appointed by the Bundesliga side in May as the successor to Xabi Alonso, who left to take charge at Real Madrid.

However, he has had a tricky start to life in Germany, collecting just one point from his opening two games.

Leverkusen lost their first game 2-1 at home to Hoffenheim despite taking an early lead through ex-Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah’s goal.

The opening day defeat came after Leverkusen thrashed fourth tier side SG 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal.

However, they threw away a 3-1 lead away on Saturday against 10-man Werder Bremen to draw 3-3 and leave themselves languishing in the bottom half.

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Erik ten Hag has been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen after just three matches in charge

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Leverkusen have endured a difficult start to the season and languish in the bottom half

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Ten Hag’s fate was sealed after Leverkusen threw away a 3-1 lead away on Saturday against 10-man Werder Bremen to draw 3-3

Ten Hag has played the ultimate price, with Leverkusen relieving him of his duties effective immediate after 62 days in the job.

The club’s managing director of sport Simon Rolfes said: ‘This decision was not an easy one for us. Nobody wanted to take this step.

‘However, the past few weeks have shown that building a new and successful team with this setup is not feasible.

‘We firmly believe in the quality of our team and will now do everything we can to take the next steps in our development with a new setup.’

Speaking after Saturday’s disappointment, Ten Hag told Sky: ‘The players aren’t ready.

‘We have a new team and some of the players aren’t at all fit enough to play. The team didn’t function at all during the final stage of the game. That’s just the way it is. They need to bring more intensity and get fitter in order to meet my standards.’

Star player Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka are among more than half a dozen key players who left Leverkusen in the summer.

Ten Hag’s reign got off to a disaster when he lost his first pre-season game 5-1 against Brazilian side Flamengo’s under-20s.

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Ten Hag has been relieved of his duties effective immediate after 62 days in the job

They went on to win three of their next four pre-season games, only losing again to Chelsea, before advancing from the first round of the DFB-Pokal with a 4-0 thrashing of SG.

The Dutchman took charge of Leverkusen in May following a seven-month absence from the game after his sacking by United in October last year.

Ten Hag was dismissed from Old Trafford just months into the season with United lying 14th in the Premier League after winning just four of their opening 14 matches.

His departure came despite the club triggering a one-year contract extension the previous summer.