WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Wolfsburg fired coach Paul Simonis on Sunday after the team’s lackluster start to the season.

Wolfsburg lost 2-1 at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Friday, its third straight defeat including the German Cup exit to second-division side Holstein Kiel.

Wolfsburg has lost seven of its last eight games, while the team has won only two of 10 league games this season.

The Volkswagen-backed club said in a statement that assistant coaches Peter van der Veen, Tristan Berghuis, and Martin Darneviel were also leaving along with the 40-year-old Simonis, who was hired in June after leading Go Ahead Eagles to a surprise Dutch Cup win in April.

“This step hurts me personally,” said Wolfsburg's managing director for sport, Peter Christiansen. "Still, we have to acknowl

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