Leverkusen defeated at home by Hoffenheim in Ten Hag's Bundesliga debut as coach

BERLIN (AP) — Hoffenheim spoiled Erik ten Hag’s Bundesliga debut as Bayer Leverkusen coach by coming from behind to defeat his team 2-1 in Leverkusen on Saturday.

Tim Lemperle scored the visitors’ winner early in the second half to get a new-look Leverkusen after a summer of change off to a disappointing start.

Ten Hag, who took over from the Real Madrid-bound Xabi Alonso, had three new signings in his starting lineup including goalkeeper Mark Flekken, young forward Ibrahim Maza, and defender Jarell Quansah.

Quansah headed Leverkusen into an early lead, but Fisnik Asllani leveled in the 25th and turned provider for Lemperle in the 52nd.

The summer departures of key players like Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka, Jeremie Frimpong and former captain Jonathan Tah – Amine Adli became the latest to leave Leverkusen on Thursday – were evident as the home team failed to mount a response.

“It’s tough because there’s a lot of new relationships forming and so it’s hard to build that rhythm exactly in the first game,” Quansah said. “It's not the end of the world that we’re not exactly where we want to be. It’s the first game of the season and we’ve got to understand that it’s going to come with time.”

Ten Hag was just one of four coaches making their Bundesliga debuts with new teams – six altogether this weekend.

Former Germany assistant Sandro Wagner got off to a dream start with his Augsburg team winning 3-1 in Freiburg, while Paul Simonis also had an opening win with Wolfsburg beating Heidenheim 3-1 away.

Horst Steffen’s Werder Bremen lost 4-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt, whose goalkeeper, Michael Zetterer, made his debut against his former teammates three days after switching between the sides.

Borussia Dortmund held on for a 3-3 draw at St. Pauli after Filippo Mané’s late sending off for the visitors.

Dortmund was leading 3-1 when Mané was shown a red card in the 85th for taking down Abdoulie Ceesay, who was through on goal. Danel Sinani scored the resulting penalty and Eric Smith sent the home fans wild when he equalized from distance four minutes after that.

Dortmund only defended for the final minutes as it sought to preserve its point.

The 20-year-old Ilyas Ansah scored two goals on his Bundesliga debut for Union Berlin to beat Stuttgart 2-1.

The game was delayed almost as soon as it started while stewards tried clearing streamers and confetti off the field. Union supporters had organized a huge tifo of a goalkeeper moving from one side of the stadium to the other to catch a ball with a giant banner declaring “stay true to your love!”

The fans found a new love in Ansah, who was given standing ovations as he took the long route back to the dugout after his starring performance.

Ansah, signed from second-division club Paderborn, scored in the 18th when he let fly with a volley in off the post and then again before the break with a crisp volley to Andrej Ilić’s cross.

Union also needed goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow at his best as he deflected Atakan Karazor’s shot onto the post among other saves.

Tiago Tomás, who returned to Stuttgart from Wolfsburg last week, scored late with his heel and Nick Woltemade thought he’d equalized in stoppage time, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Union's fans celebrated as if their team had scored and held on for the win.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Union's Ilyas Ansah, right, celebrates with Union's Christopher Trimmel after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart, at the An der Alten Forsterei stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Union's Ilyas Ansah, right, celebrates with Union's Christopher Trimmel after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart, at the An der Alten Forsterei stadium in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Essen fans set off Bengal fires in the fan block during a German Cup first-round soccer match between Essen and Borussia Dortmund, at Stadion an der Hafenstrasse in Essen, Germany, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

Dortmund's Waldemar Anton, right, celebrates with teammate Felix Nmecha after scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC St. Pauli and Borussia Dortmund at Millerntor Stadium in Hamburg, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)

Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza and Hoffenheim's Bernardo, left, fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, Saturday Aug. 23, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

CARY, N.C. (AP) — Clayton Kershaw isn't done pitching just yet, agreeing Thursday to join the U.S. team for this year's World Baseball Classic.

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner wanted to pitch for the Americans in the 2023 tournament but was prevented because of insurance issues. He had a $20 million, one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time.

“I was too broken for the insurance to cover my arm and everything,” Kershaw said on MLB Network, “so now that it doesn't matter I get to go and be a part of this group.”

A left-hander who turns 38 two days after the March 17 championship game, Kershaw announced last September that he was retiring at the end of the season, his 18th in a stellar career for the Dodgers. He won his third World Series title and finished 223-96 with a 2.53 ERA and 3,052 strikeouts.

“I just want to be the insurance policy,” Kershaw said. “If anybody needs a breather or if they need me to pitch back-to-back-to-back or if they don’t need me to pitch at all, I’m just there to be there. I just want to be a part of this group.”

Later Thursday, new Chicago Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman announced he will join the U.S. team.

When Kershaw received a call from U.S. manager Mark DeRosa, he thought he was being invited as a coach.

“I didn't have a whole lot of interest in picking up a baseball again," Kershaw said. “I started throwing 10, 12 days ago and it doesn’t feel terrible, so I think I’ll be OK.”

Kershaw joins a U.S. pitching staff that includes right-handers David Bednar, Clay Holmes, Griffin Jax, Nolan McLean, Mason Miller, Joe Ryan, Paul Skenes and Logan Webb along with left-handers Tarik Skubal and Gabe Speier.

The American roster also includes catchers Cal Raleigh and Will Smith; infielders Ernie Clement, Gunnar Henderson, Brice Turang and Bobby Witt Jr.; outfielders Byron Buxton, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Aaron Judge; and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber.

The U.S., which lost the 2023 championship game to Japan, opens March 6 against Brazil at Houston, part of a group that also includes Britain, Italy and Mexico.

Shohei Ohtani struck out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to end Japan's 3-2 win in the 2023 championship. Kershaw doesn't anticipate facing Ohtani, his teammate for the Dodgers' World Series titles in 2024 and 2025.

“I think something will have gone terribly wrong if I have to pitch against team Japan in the finals or something. I think we got plenty of guys to get that guy out and not me,” Kershaw said. “But if that happens, I'll be nervous. I'll be nervous at this point.”

AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw celebrates the end of the top of the 12th inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)