Leverkusen part ways with coach Gerardo Seoane

That setback in northern Portugal was Bayer's eighth defeat in 12 games in all competitions this term. The team from North Rhine-Westphalia find themselves second from bottom of the Bundesliga standings having collected maximum points just once in eight outings while their DFB Cup challenge ended at the first hurdle following a surprise loss against third-tier Elversberg in late July.

Swiss native Seoane - a former FC Luzern and Grasshoppers midfielder - arrived at Leverkusen in July 2021 having led Young Boys to three domestic top-flight championships and a league and cup double in 2019/20. In his maiden season at the BayArena, he helped the team to third-place in the Bundesliga, their best finish in seven years.

That feat, which included a club record 80 top-flight goals scored, brought Bayer back into the Champions League group stages. However, they struggled to recreate that form this season, enduing their worst start to a campaign since promotion in 1979. As many as three straight Bundesliga defeats along with the aforementioned Pokal exit laid down shaky foundations at the beginning of the campaign and Leverkusen have since struggled to recover, leading to Seoane's departure.