Tottenham Hotspur have spent significantly this summer but Roberto De Zerbi’s side were comprehensively beaten by Brentford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Spurs have committed to spending nearly £250m on transfers already this summer, with a deal worth up to £85m for Savinho agreed with Manchester City and one for his team-mate Omar Marmoush also progressing.
De Zerbi gave four players their competitive debuts for Spurs, including defenders Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, with Sandro Tonali starting in midfield. But there is understandably work to do before they look like a team, and Brentford raced into a 2-0 lead in a little over half an hour, with Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt scoring.
De Zerbi made two changes at the break, bringing on Mateus Fernandes for his debut, but Brentford struck again, with Michael Kayode finishing after the impressive Mamadou Sangare, also making his Premier League debut, had his shot saved.
De Zerbi saved Spurs from relegation last season but still has a lot of work to do to improve their situation.
The Athletic’s Jay Harris and Liam Tharme break down the key talking points.
What went wrong for De Zerbi?
Firstly, he picked a team packed with technical quality against an opponent known for its physical dominance. And De Zerbi knew that. This was his fifth Premier League match against Brentford and he’s only beaten them once.
Kevin Danso would have offered more protection, particularly against Igor Thiago and Kevin Schade. Brentford won 12 of the 18 first-half aerial duels and 64 per cent of their long passes found a teammate.
Similarly, the hold-up striker role handed to Richarlison suited Dominic Solanke much better. Richarlison does his best work by running into space and isolating centre-backs in wide areas. He does not have the strength of a back-to-goal target man, which was exposed for Brentford’s second goal when Antonee Robinson played through the press to him, and Kristoffer Ajer dispossessed the Brazil forward with ease.
Roberto De Zerbi had a day to forget (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
The pick of Conor Gallagher at No. 10 was a curious one because the midfield was the one position where De Zerbi opted for physicality. He tried to fix the problem at half-time, switching the yellow-carded Gallagher for Mateus Fernandes, but it was too late. Lucas Bergvall, who lost a duel in the build-up to the second goal, was hooked too.
At no stage did Spurs get a grip on Brentford’s set pieces – which falls on specialist coach Andreas Georgson – including the third goal by Kayode in 49 minutes, which sealed the win. There’s a root cause here too: Spurs have now failed to win in 35 Premier League matches when going 1-0 down, losing 27 of those, and last won from such a position in November 2024.
Liam Tharme
How impressive is Mamadou Sangare?
This match was supposed to be the day when Sandro Tonali demonstrated why Spurs spent a club-record £100m to sign him from Newcastle United. On his Premier League debut, Mamadou Sangare completely overshadowed him and cost half the price.
Brentford bought Sangare to replace Jordan Henderson. It seemed strange at the time that Brentford were not particularly bothered about losing the 36-year-old to Chelsea but now it all makes sense. Sangare is elegant in possession and unafraid to stick his foot in. In the first 10 minutes, Sangare sent Spurs a few warning signs with some clever line-breaking passes and his ability to effortlessly glide past tackles.
Mamadou Sangare celebrates his role in the third goal (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
The Malian international almost single-handedly created Lewis-Potter’s opener. He picked up the ball, exchanged a slick one-two with Dango Ouattara and burst into the box before picking out Lewis-Potter with a perfectly weighted pass.
Sangare continued to be a nuisance, with Tonali and Lucas Bergvall powerless to contain him. Just before half-time, Senesi was the favourite for a loose ball until Sangare produced a beautiful pirouette and nudged it with his backheel into Ouattara’s path.
De Zerbi sacrificed Bergvall and Gallagher at half-time for the £85m signings Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur yet the situation became even worse. Sangare’s half-volley from the edge of the box resulted in Kayode’s goal, and then Bentancur fouled Schade, giving away a penalty. Igor Thiago hit the post to limit the damage.
It looks like Brentford have found themselves another hidden gem in the transfer market.
Spurs have spent around m on transfers.50m. What more do they need?
This humbling defeat reminded everybody why the Spurs have more work to do in the transfer market. Van Hecke and Senesi had difficult debuts, but the defence will improve significantly when Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven return to full fitness. Fernandes’ promising second-half cameo suggests he could forge a strong partnership with Tonali in central midfield.
It was painful to watch Spurs attempt to create chances. Richarlison was ineffective at holding the ball up and connecting with teammates, while Gallagher lacks the creativity to function as a No. 10. Mikey Moore wasted three glaring chances to score in the second half before James Maddison replaced him.
Maddison tried his best but is still finding his feet after recovering from two ACL injuries. The only player to emerge with any credit is Robertson for whipping multiple excellent crosses into the box.
Sandro Tonali struggled to assert himself in midfield (Photo: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
Signing Savinho from Manchester City will give Spurs a versatile winger who can provide competition and cover for Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel. Yet Marmoush is potentially the more exciting acquisition.
Spurs have lacked a quality centre-forward since they sold Harry Kane to Bayern Munich three years ago. Solanke has struggled with injuries over the last 18 months and will need to rediscover his sharpness. Marmoush’s speed, two-footedness and flexibility could offer Spurs a wildcard option up front and open up several interesting tactical options. Spurs just need to hope that this underwhelming performance has not put Marmoush and Savinho off.
It should be pointed out that five years ago Brentford beat Arsenal on the opening day of the season. Arsenal were missing several of their key players, handed debuts to a couple of new signings and spent more money before the window closed that year. Arsenal went on to finish fifth under Mikel Arteta. Spurs will be hoping history repeats itself and that by the end of the season people will also view the match as a freak result.
