Brentford rout Spurs 3-0 in De Zerbi's first home league defeat

Brentford stunned Tottenham in Saturday's late Premier League kick-off, routing Roberto De Zerbi's side 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium. Spurs started their first full Premier League campaign under Roberto De Zerbi in nightmare fashion as they were thrashed by London rivals Brentford.

Spurs were under pressure from the first whistle. Nathan Collins headed wide when totally unmarked and Jan Paul van Hecke narrowly avoided turning Keane Lewis-Potter's cross into his own net. Lewis-Potter put Brentford in front with a simple side-footed finish in the 12th minute after new signing Mamadou Sangare played a one-two with Igor Thiago and burst into the penalty area to provide the assist.

It was 2-0 just after the half-hour mark, with Richarlison putting Spurs in trouble when he lost the ball cheaply near halfway. Mathias Jensen's long-range effort was only parried by Antonin Kinsky, and a grateful Vitaly Janelt tapped into an unguarded net.

The second of those goals came from suspect goalkeeping from Antonin Kinsky, who was also guilty of parrying Mamadou Sangare's volley to Michael Kayode for Brentford's third early in the second half. Kayode finished in the 49th minute after Kinsky failed to hold onto a stinging volley from the impressive Sangare.

Spurs, who only introduced new £85m midfielder Mateus Fernandes from the bench at half-time, could have lost by an even bigger scoreline. Igor Thiago hit the post from the penalty spot after Spurs substitute Rodrigo Bentancur fouled Kevin Schade from behind. Mikey Moore missed Spurs' only two chances to get a consolation goal on a miserable day for De Zerbi's men, with just two Spurs players testing Caoimhin Kelleher in the hosts' net. Brentford put up 3.96 xG to Tottenham's 0.47.

Debuts and a £250m rebuild exposed

De Zerbi gave four players their competitive debuts for Spurs in defenders Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, with Sandro Tonali starting in midfield. Mateus Fernandes made it five Spurs debuts after the break, joining Rodrigo Bentancur on.

The Athletic's analysis highlighted a team packed with technical quality against an opponent known for physical dominance. 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 team-mate.

The hold-up striker role handed to Richarlison suited Dominic Solanke much better. Richarlison does his best work running into space and isolating centre-backs out wide. Kristoffer Ajer dispossessed the Brazil forward with ease for Brentford's second goal, when Antonin Kinsky played through the press to him.

The pick of Conor Gallagher at No 10 was a curious one because this was the one position where De Zerbi opted for physicality. He tried to correct the error at half-time, switching the yellow-carded Gallagher for Mateus Fernandes, but the damage was already done. Lucas Bergvall, who lost a duel in the build-up to the second goal, was hooked too.

Sangare shines as Tonali is overshadowed

This was supposed to be the day when Sandro Tonali demonstrated why Spurs spent a club-record £100m to sign him from Newcastle United. He was completely overshadowed by Mamadou Sangare on his Premier League debut and cost half the price.

Brentford bought Sangare to replace Jordan Henderson. The Mali international created Lewis-Potter's opener almost single-handedly, picking up the ball, exchanging a slick one-two with Dango Ouattara and bursting 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.

Sangare's half-volley from the edge of the box led to Kayode's goal and then Bentancur gave away the penalty for fouling Schade. Igor Thiago hit the post to limit the damage.

What Spurs still need

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 progressing too.

Van Hecke and Senesi had difficult debuts but the defence will be improved 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 team-mates while Gallagher lacks the creativity to function as a No 10. Mikey Moore wasted three great chances before being replaced by James Maddison. 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.

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.

Spurs host Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, before taking on Newcastle United in their second Premier League game, and De Zerbi will know a huge improvement is required. Brentford host Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.