Boniface Blanks As Ten Hag’s Leverkusen Humiliated 5-1 by Flamengo U-20

The pre-season friendly held on Friday, July 18, marked Erik ten Hag’s debut as manager of German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

The former Manchester United boss, who was dismissed from Old Trafford in October following a troubled spell, took over at Leverkusen this summer after Xabi Alonso’s exit to Real Madrid.

For his first outing, Ten Hag retained Alonso’s signature 3-4-2-1 formation, fielding a strong starting XI that included Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken, Jonas Hofmann, and Nigerian striker Victor Boniface. However, the match quickly spiraled out of control.

Flamengo U-20’s Lorran opened the scoring early, and a blundered own goal from Arthur put the Brazilians two goals ahead.

Leverkusen appeared unsettled and disorganized. By the 36th minute, Ten Hag had already pulled Flekken and Boniface from the game in an attempt to contain the damage.

But the onslaught continued. Matheus Goncalves and Pedro Leao both found the net before halftime, giving Flamengo an astonishing 4-0 lead at the break. Gusttavo added a fifth goal in the second half, deepening Leverkusen’s embarrassment.

Montrell Culbreath grabbed a late consolation goal for the Germans, but it barely softened the blow of the 5-1 defeat.

Though pre-season matches often lack competitive edge, the manner of the loss will surely trouble Leverkusen supporters hoping Ten Hag can bring a new era of success.

As for Victor Boniface, the Nigerian forward had a disappointing outing, failing to register a single shot on target before being substituted early.