Soccer
Roberto De Zerbi admitted his Tottenham side “were not ready to fight the duels” in their defeat to Brentford.
Spurs lost 3-0 at Gtech Community Stadium after goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode.
Spurs suffered their joint-heaviest defeat on matchday one of a Premier League season, having also lost 3-0 to Manchester United in 2011-12.
Despite having a 58.9% share of the possession, Spurs conceded six Opta-defined big chances, while winning just 36.1% of their aerial duels against the Bees.
De Zerbi lamented Spurs’ inability to match Brentford’s desire to win more physical battles, which proved to be costly.
“We suffered physically but we knew that before the game. We were not ready to fight the duels,” De Zerbi told Sky Sports.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the timing of the pressure with Mikey Moore. We arrived late too many times and we lost too many duels to compete with Brentford.
“I am sorry for the defeat. I know we have to improve our physical condition, our organisation. There were many new players but it was the first game. It’s part of our journey.
“With a lot of new players, we knew we needed soul and style of play to become a team. I think there was the soul, but we didn’t fight in the right way.”
15 – There was 15 passes in the build-up to Keane Lewis-Potter’s opening goal for Brentford, only Michael Kayode’s goal v Wolves in March (19) and Rico Henry’s goal v Bournemouth in December (18) have seen more in a Premier League goal for the Bees under Keith Andrews.
Busy. pic.twitter.com/8j5RZWFxvH
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 22, 2026
Brentford, meanwhile, enjoyed a brilliant start to their campaign, and it was a stunning debut performance from record signing Mamadou Sangare.
Sangare is the fifth player to either score or assist on their Premier League debut for Brentford after providing the pass for Lewis-Potter’s opener against Spurs, and just the second since the start of 2022-23, after Dango Ouattara versus Aston Villa last term.
He also won possession more often than any other Bees player (seven), and Keith Andrews was delighted to see the midfielder’s early impact.
“He [Sangare] is a top player, no doubt about it,” the Brentford boss told Sky Sports.
“He is the one we were after in the window. The club deserve a lot of credit. He deserves a lot of credit too, because he could have gone elsewhere for a few more bob.
“He recognised this would be a good place to come and he has settled quite nicely.
“When you bring in a really good player, it brings the level of the team up. But that is not to underestimate what we already had.
“We have the strength and depth. It was important the impact the bench had.”
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