Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League Season Under De Zerbi Starts Poorly with Dominant Brent
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This content is not available in your location. There was an error Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League season under Roberto De Zerbi gets off to a dismal start as they lose 3-0 to a dominant Brentford side at the Gtech Community Stadium. MATCH REPORT: Premier League - Brentford 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur
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Sky SportsSaturday 22 August 2026 22:35, UK Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi believes their dismal 3-0 opening-season defeat at Brentford shows his new-look side are "not a team yet" after a big summer of spending.
ESPNDe Zerbi: Spurs not ready, lacking fight in loss Roberto De Zerbi has said that Tottenham are undercooked and "lacking fight" after they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Brentford.
The Guardian SportRoberto De Zerbi said that Tottenham are “not a team” after they opened their season with a humiliating 3-0 defeat away to Brentford.
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Spurs' summer spending is set to surpass the £300m mark, with deals advancing for Manchester City pair Savinho and Omar Marmoush.
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The Guardian SportSo must Savinho and Omar Marmoush, pending arrivals that will take Spurs’ summer spending towards the dizzying heights of £400m – only Liverpool in 2025 have spent more in a single window out of any club, anywhere. Spurs had brought in six new players before a ball was kicked but still started the season with Richarlison leading the line. The contrast between his meek performance and that of his compatriot and opposite number Igor Thiago, combining power and poise, felt significant. The ease with which Brentford’s No 9 had it all afternoon was evident in his over-relaxed penalty that pinged back off the foot of a post at 3-0.
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"We are not in the right point in physical condition for a lot of reasons. For the players, they came late after the World Cup because in Australia [pre-season tour] we couldn't work in the right way for the trip; we don't take risks for a lot of things.
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BBC Sport"Our physical condition was not in the right level for all players because many came later after the World Cup and there were many new players in the squad and first XI. But we have to analyse this game better because we can't play this way in this type of game."
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There were boos from the away end at half-time. De Zerbi reacted, Rodrigo Bentancur replacing the wretched Bergvall and Gallagher’s removal allowing Mateus Fernandes to come on for his debut after his £85m move from West Ham, but Brentford did not need long to stamp out any hope of a fightback.
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Sky SportsBergvall was substituted at half-time for Rodrigo Bentancur, and De Zerbi admitted he knew the 20-year-old would struggle with Brentford's physicality, but the experienced Bentancur was not fit enough to start.
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Gray: Brentford outfought us Archie Gray became Spurs' youngest-ever captain in a competitive fixture as he took the armband in the absence of new skipper Micky van de Ven.
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BBC SportArchie Gray: The youngest captain in Spurs history but not a day for celebration. Played as an emergency right-back and looked like, well, an emergency right-back. 5
The Guardian SportDe Zerbi is known for his boldness – and there was certainly something to be said for making Archie Gray the youngest captain in Tottenham’s history in the absence of the injured new club skipper, Micky van de Ven. You could forgive his predecessor, Cristian Romero, for feeling a touch smug in his new Madrid apartment. The edgy Marcos Senesi, such an unflappable figure amid the turnover in the Bournemouth defence last season, clearly spent too much time with his Argentina teammate Romero at the World Cup. His defensive partner, Jan Paul van Hecke, has not settled in either. Scotland’s captain, Andy Robertson, led out by the 20-year-old Gray here, must be asking what he has let himself in for.
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And how Spurs were exposed. Brentford should have been ahead before Keane Lewis-Potter broke the deadlock after 12 minutes, the contest effectively over when Vitaly Janelt doubled their lead before half-time.
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Sky SportsReport and free match highlights as Spurs were easily beaten 3-0 at Brentford in their Premier League season opener; Spurs failed to have a first-half shot on target; Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt scored first-half goals; Michael Kayode added a third as Igor Thiago missed a penalty
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There was no escaping the irony that the best player on the splendid opening-day pitch was the only new face in Brentford’s starting XI. Mamadou Sangaré, signed for a club-record fee from Lens, made sure his Premier League debut was played at his pace – faster and more dynamic than any of Sandro Tonali, Lucas Bergvall or Conor Gallagher could deal with in midfield. The Mali international ran off Bergvall to set up Keane Lewis-Potter’s first and struck the shot that led to Michael Kayode’s third.
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Sky SportsSpurs gave competitive debuts to five new signings, but it was Brentford's club-record signing Mamadou Sanagre who stole the show as he set up the first goal and ran the game in midfield.
BBC SportMamadou Sangare: Outstanding. Won possession, used possession and set up Lewis-Potter's opening goal superbly. Club-record signing at £39m looks a bargain. 8
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It could have been even worse had the normally reliable Igor Thiago not struck the post with a penalty, but that was no consolation for Spurs or De Zerbi on what was a chastening day.
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Sky SportsRoberto De Zerbi's side's miserable season opener at the Gtech Community Stadium could have been worse, only for Igor Thiago to miss a 55th-minute penalty.
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After establishing a two-goal lead through Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt, Brentford were unfazed by Spurs’ introduction of their £85m signing Mateus Fernandes at the break and carried on where they left off. How high can they fly this season? Unlike many of their rivals, Keith Andrews’ side are without the burden of European football after missing out on the final day of last season. Second-half substitutes such as Jaidon Anthony and Callum Wilson are handy additions of firepower at a fraction of the cost in a market that is ballooning off the back of Spurs’ wild spending.
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It will worry Roberto De Zerbi that his side appeared to believe an extravagant transfer window meant they could stroll to victory. Some players chickened out of challenges, others were lazy with their passing and when all the elements of a shocking performance were put together it was not hard to work out why Brentford spent the first half doing as they pleased, to the extent the hosts must have been disappointed they were only 2-0 up at half-time.
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BBC SportDe Zerbi told BBC Sport's Match of the Day: "Bad game. We lost and suffered the difference in the duels. It was the key of this game. We didn't fight in the right way. Maybe credit to them because it's the best quality Brentford have.
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Tonali's only memorable contribution was a first-half attempt on goal that flew horribly skywards, prompting the inevitable suggestion from Brentford supporters that Spurs had wasted their money.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Sky Sports The Italian also admitted his team lacked fight in the loss in west London and feels they were undercooked for their opener, as Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp labelled them a "team of strangers".
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02 The Guardian Sport “We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons,” the Tottenham manager said. “Before you become a team you can’t say what you can do. We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons. Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don’t work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project.
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03 BBC Sport This content is not available in your location. There was an error Match of the Day's Mark Chapman, Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney discuss how Tottenham Hotspur's heavy loss to Brentford is cause for concern considering how much money they have spent.
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