Tottenham humbled 3-0 at Gtech Community Stadium

Tottenham fell to a humbling 3-0 defeat at Brentford to open their Premier League campaign, and Roberto De Zerbi pinpointed a key issue in the aftermath.

Goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode gave Brentford a perfect start, leaving Spurs with their joint-heaviest defeat on matchday one of a Premier League season, matching the 3-0 loss to Manchester United in 2011-12.

Despite having a 58.9% share of possession, Spurs conceded six Opta-defined big chances while winning just 36.1% of their aerial duels against the Bees.

De Zerbi admits Spurs lacked physicality

Roberto De Zerbi admitted his Tottenham side "were not ready to fight the duels" in the defeat.

"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."

Sangare shines on Brentford debut

Brentford enjoyed a brilliant start to their campaign, highlighted by 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 with seven recoveries.

"He [Sangare] is a top player, no doubt about it," Brentford boss Keith Andrews 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."