Erik ten Hag's first pre-season game as Bayer Leverkusen's head coach resulted in a disappointing 5-1 loss to Flamengo Under-20s. Ten Hag acknowledged the unacceptable scoreline but emphasized the unimportance of pre-season results. He pointed out that the timing of the game and the inability to field a strong team for 90 minutes influenced the outcome. The focus was on ensuring the players remained fit, as the team prepares for upcoming matches against Bochum, Sonnenhof Grossaspach in the DFB-Pokal, and Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.
I don't want to lose a game. The result looks bad, we can never lose by that much, but I don't give a damn about results in pre-season.
I knew beforehand that we couldn't field a good team for the full 90 minutes. The most important thing was to stay fit.
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