Tottenham Humbled by Brentford: De Zerbi's Honest Assessment
Tottenham’s new season lasted all of a few minutes before reality bit. Hard.
A 3-0 defeat at Brentford is bad enough on paper. In the flesh, at a buzzing Gtech Community Stadium, it looked worse. Spurs, who flirted with relegation last season and are preparing to throw more than £300m at this rebuild, were outfought, out-thought and out-run by Keith Andrews’s side.
Roberto De Zerbi did not bother dressing it up.
“We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons,” the Tottenham manager said, his assessment as blunt as the scoreline. “Before you become a team you can’t say what you can do.”
Brentford tear into Spurs
From the start, Brentford played like a side who knew exactly what they were. Aggressive without the ball, direct and sharp with it, they sensed fragility and went after it.
Keane Lewis-Potter struck, Vitaly Janelt added another, and Michael Kayode finished the job. Every goal felt like confirmation of the gulf in cohesion between a settled Brentford and a Tottenham side still trying to remember each other’s names.
The hosts dominated duels, second balls, and the emotional tempo of the game. Spurs never got close.
“We could fight stronger than we did today,” De Zerbi admitted. “We lost too many duels today. We arrived second in the second balls. We didn’t win one second ball, one duel, one tackle.”
For a manager who prizes intensity, that cut deep.
New faces, old problems
Tottenham’s lineup carried the weight of a new era. Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali all made their debuts. On paper, it looked like a statement.
On grass, it looked like a group project still stuck on the introduction.
De Zerbi knows more signings are coming. Omar Marmoush and Savinho, arriving from Manchester City, are expected to bolster the attack. The Italian, though, was clear: the market can’t do the hard work for him.
“There are steps to become better,” he said. “Now the target is to become a team. You can’t become a team from the transfer market on paper. You become a team when the players find a connection, a spirit, a soul. It’s a project.”
Right now, the project is in its messy early chapters. Some of his key pieces were missing: Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven were unavailable, while Rodrigo Bentancur, only fit enough for the bench, returned late in pre-season.
The manager also turned the spotlight on their preparation.
“We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons,” he said. “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.”
He stressed he would not ask for patience as a shield.
“I don’t want time but we have to pass through these problems. I cannot lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, my club, myself. We are working well. We have to improve quickly.”
Brentford’s statement start
While Tottenham wrestled with their identity, Brentford simply went to work.
This is their second season under Keith Andrews and they played like a team fully aligned with their manager. The goals were spread, the performance collective, but one new signing stole much of the attention.
Mamadou Sangaré, the £39m arrival from Lens, controlled the midfield on debut, snapping into challenges and driving his team forward. It was the kind of first outing that makes a fanbase sit up.
“The club deserve a lot of credit for getting that deal done,” Andrews said. “You’ve seen today what he’s capable of, the attributes he has. It adds to a talented midfield. I really enjoyed his performance today. He’s slotted in really well. He’s a humble young man who’s very, very hungry.”
Hunger. Connection. Physical edge. Brentford had them all. Tottenham had none of them.
De Zerbi called his side “not a team” yet. The question now is how quickly he can turn this collection of expensive parts into something that looks, and fights, like one.
