Schalke 04 have sacked head coach David Wagner following their poor start to the season, the German Bundesliga club said in a statement on Sunday.
Schalke were thrashed 8-0 by champions Bayern Munich in their first game last weekend and suffered a 3-1 defeat by Werder Bremen on Saturday.
Der #S04 hat Chef-Trainer David #Wagner mit sofortiger Wirkung beurlaubt.
Alle Infos— FC Schalke 04 (@s04) September 27, 2020
"We had all hoped that we could improve on the pitch together with David Wagner," Schalke sports director Jochen Schneider said.
"Unfortunately, we haven't seen the right performances and results from the first two games ... for this to happen.
"We have therefore decided to make a fresh start. Despite the disappointing results, this wasn't an easy decision for us to make."
Schalke, who are without a win in their last 18 league games, said Wagner's assistants Christoph Buhler and Frank Frohling were also leaving the club.
The 48-year-old Wagner joined Schalke in 2019 after more than three years in charge of English team Huddersfield Town, and started well as they moved into Champions League contention with only three defeats in 17 games.
They added only 10 more from their next 17 matches, however, to end up 12th in the standings, eight points above the relegation playoff spot.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ed Osmond)
