RB Leipzig have announced that Domenico Tedesco has been relieved of his managerial duties at the club.
The 36-year-old was only appointed head coach of the German outfit last December, but he has been sacked following a disappointing start to the 2022-23 campaign.
Leipzig were thrashed 4-0 by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last weekend, which left them 11th in the table with only five points to show from their opening five matches.
The Red Bulls then lost 4-1 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, with the club deciding to relieve Tedesco of his duties.
"RB Leipzig have parted company with Domenico Tedesco with immediate effect. This is the result of in-depth discussions following the 4-1 home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening," read a statement on the club's official website.
© Reuters
"Assistant coaches Andreas Hinkel and Max Urwantschky will also be relieved of their duties. The club will provide information on the successor in due course."
In a statement, Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said that the decision was "very difficult" but stressed that a change was needed.
"The decision to part ways with Domenico Tedesco was a very difficult one for us. We had a very successful second half of last season under his tenure and we qualified for the Champions League. Under his leadership, we also won the DFB-Pokal, our first major title, and he was part of the most successful season in our young club's history," said Mintzlaff.
"For this, Domenico and his coaching staff deserve our gratitude. Domenico is a fantastic coach who will have a lot of success in the future.
"However, after our mediocre start to the Bundesliga season with five points from five games, along with the recent defeats to Eintracht and Shakhtar, we believe that a change of management is the right course of action to turn things round quickly.
© Reuters
"Our priority is RB Leipzig and we have goals that we want to achieve. We have therefore come to the conclusion that we need a change within the club. We regret that we are going our separate ways and we would like to thank Domenico for what he has achieved. We wish him nothing but the best for the future."
Tedesco leaves the club, who finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season, with a record of 20 wins, nine draws and nine defeats from his 38 matches at the helm.
The head coach also led the club to last season's DFB-Pokal title, beating Freiburg on penalties in the final of the competition.
According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, there is already a 'full agreement in place' for Marco Rose to become the club's new head coach.
The 45-year-old, who was previously in charge of Red Bull Salzburg, has been without a position since leaving Borussia Dortmund in May.