Bayer Leverkusen suffered a shock 2-1 home loss to Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga season opener on Saturday to hand new coach Erik ten Hag a losing league debut.
Despite going 1-0 up, it was not the performance Dutchman Ten Hag, who replaced Xabi Alonso after the departures of star player Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Granit Xhaka, had wanted.
The 2024 German domestic double winners and last season’s runners-up lacked ideas and precision up front while their backline badly missed Tah’s dominant presence.
Hoffenheim hit the post through Tim Lemperle after two minutes but Leverkusen scored first when Jarell Quansah headed in for a sixth-minute lead.
Fisnik Asllani, however, bagged a 25th-minute equaliser after beating keeper Mark Flekken and things got worse for the hosts seven minutes after the restart when Lemperle drilled in a low shot from 22 metres.
Leverkusen did not get a look-in for much of the second half until Nathan Tella fired into the side netting.
Champions Bayern Munich opened the Bundesliga season on Friday with a 6-0 demolition of RB Leipzig.
In Ligue 1, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a brace as last season’s runners-up Marseille bounced back from a shock loss at Stade Rennais to clinch a 5-2 win over Paris FC.
Mason Greenwood scored for Marseille from the spot in the 18th minute after Aubameyang was brought down in the box by Otavio. Aubameyang doubled the hosts’ lead six minutes later when he fired home from Greenwood’s corner.
The visitors hit back just four minutes later, as Ilan Kebbal found the net with a curling left-footed shot. Moses Simon hit the equaliser before the hour mark as Paris looked to secure their first point in the French top-flight in 46 years.
But Paris’s Lohann Doucet fumbled as he received the ball from keeper Obed Nkambadio, allowing Bilal Nadir to steal the ball and find an unmarked Aubameyang on the edge of the box. The Gabon international made no mistake with a low right-footed finish in the 73rd minute.
Nadir’s pass helped Pierre-Emile Højbjerg score eight minutes later and Robinio Vaz struck in added time, securing a crucial win for Marseille before next weekend’s visit to Lyon.
