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Despite a big spending summer, Tottenham Hotspur continued their Premier League woes, starting off the season with a 0-3 loss to Brentford away from home on Saturday.
Having avoided relegation on the final day of the previous season, Spurs splurged out 237 million pounds on signings in the summer transfer window so far, but it did not pay off in their campaign opener, according to Sky Sports. Spurs handed out debuts to five new signings, but it was Brentford's club-record signing Mamadou Sangare who stole the show, assisting in a goal and dominating the play in the midfield. Brentford scored two goals in the first half, with Keane Lewis-Potter (12th minute) and Vitaly Janelt (33rd minute) being among the goalscorers. Four minutes into the second half, Michael Kayode delivered the third blow. Adding to the club's terrible day at work, Igor Thiago missed a penalty in the 55th minute. Having finished 17th in back-to-back seasons, Spurs will have a chance to redeem themselves at home against Newcastle United on August 29. But before that, they will feature in the EFL Cup against Charlton Athletic on August 27 at home. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi said that they 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 am sorry for that; I am sorry for the defeat," he said. "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 is the first game; it is part of our journey." He also said that with a lot of new players, they need "soul and a style of play" to become the team they need to be. "Today I think there was the soul, but in the end we did not 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," he said. "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," he signed off. (ANI)
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