Brentford’s intensity made easy work of Tottenham Hotspur in a 3-0 Premier League win at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
Despite their summer-spending spree, Spurs looked short of ideas and attacking intent in a damaging, season-opening loss.
For Brentford, it’s a great start to the season, with goals coming from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode.
Physical struggles
“We suffered physically, but we knew that before the game,” Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi told Sky Sports.
“We were not ready to fight the duels. We made a lot of mistakes in the timing of the pressure with Mikey Moore on the left centre-back.
“We arrived late too many times, but then we lost too many duels to compete with Brentford. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for the defeat.
“I know we have to improve in the physical condition. We have to improve in the organisation because there were many new players.
“But it’s the first game – it’s part of our journey.”
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Soul and style needed
“We knew before the game that, with a lot of new players, to become a team we need two things: soul and style of play,” De Zerbi added.
“I think there was the soul, but in the end we didn’t fight in the right way for the difference of the duels.
“Brentford is one of the most important teams in the Premier League in terms of duels, but a fair game.
“I believe in my players. It was a game, especially in the first half, in one direction; we were in the right position with high pressure – I said with Mikey Moore.
“If you analyse the game, you can see how many duels we lost in the first half. The direction of the game went towards Brentford.”
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