A beat managed to ease off (5)
I believe the answer is:
abate
'ease off' is the definition.
'a beat managed' is the wordplay.
'managed' indicates an anagram.
'beat' is an anagram of 'bate'.
'a'+'bate'='ABATE'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for abate that I've seen before include "Diminish, mitigate" , "Wane" , "Subside, grow less" , "Go down like storm" , "Become less in intensity" .)