Yaya Toure has endured a difficult start to life as Slovan Bratislava manager, losing each of his first four Champions League matches by at least three goals.

The former Cote d’Ivoire international has become the first coach in the competition’s history to suffer defeats in his opening four games, with a margin of three or more goals in every match, according to Foot Mercato.

Toure, who was the first African coach to take charge from the bench during the main phase of the Champions League, began his European campaign with a heavy loss against Paris Saint-Germain. Slovan Bratislava were beaten 6-1 in that opening fixture.

The Slovakian club then lost 3-0 to Stuttgart before recording identical 4-0 defeats against AS Roma and LASK.

Across those four matches, Slovan Bratislava have conceded 17 goals and scored only once. The sequence has left Toure with a record he would have preferred to avoid as he begins his transition from elite player to manager.

The Ivorian was one of the leading midfielders of his generation, achieving major success with FC Barcelona and Manchester City. However, his first experience of managing in the Champions League has placed him in the competition’s record books for an unwanted reason.

A demanding challenge ahead

Toure now faces the task of finding a response to a run of results that has exposed the scale of the challenge facing Slovan Bratislava against Europe’s strongest teams.

The four defeats have raised questions over whether the club can compete with the continent’s leading sides. The immediate priority for the former champion is to identify solutions, improve the team’s defensive performances and restore confidence within the squad.

Although Toure’s name has already entered Champions League history, the record has come during a difficult introduction to the competition. His next challenge will be to ensure that an unwanted statistic does not define his time in charge of Slovan Bratislava.