Leverkusen win first match under Ten Hag

Leverkusen won 2-0 against Bochum in a pre-season friendly on July 27.

Vietnamese-origin striker Ibrahim Maza participated in this match.

Coach Erik ten Hag continued to apply the 3-4-3 formation for the match against Bochum. The notable change was that striker Patrick Schick was placed in the starting lineup instead of Victor Boniface as in the match against U20 Flamengo.

In just the first 45 minutes, Leverkusen took a 2-goal lead thanks to Jonas Hofmann and Schick. These goals helped Leverkusen play more leisurely in the rest of the match.

Ten Hag's goal in this match was to test the lineup. In the second half, the Dutch coach replaced all the players to test each player's ability. Vietnamese-born striker Ibrahim Maza was also given a chance to play when he entered the field at the beginning of the second half, but did not score or assist.

The win over Bochum helped Ten Hag relieve stress. Previously, the Dutch coach was criticized after the 1-5 loss to U20 Flamengo on July 18.

Leverkusen's preparations for the new season have fans worried. The team has not been able to bring in any big names despite saying goodbye to a series of key players such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Jonathan Tah.

Key midfielder Granit Xhaka also wanted to leave after coach Xabi Alonso joined Real Madrid. The former Arsenal star reached an agreement to join Sunderland, but was opposed by Ten Hag.

"Xhaka is a leader, we really need him in the team," the Dutch coach said after the loss to U20 Flamengo.

PSG beat Bayern with 9 men. Early morning of July 6, PSG defeated Bayern 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Source: https://znews.vn/leverkusen-thang-tran-dau-duoi-thoi-ten-hag-post1572155.html