adminRoberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham Hotspur were brought crashing back down to earth on the opening weekend of the Premier League season after their summer optimism was replaced by a sobering defeat to Brentford.
Spurs invested heavily during the transfer window and entered the campaign with plenty of excitement surrounding the club. However, Brentford quickly exposed their weaknesses, producing a dominant display to run out comfortable winners.
The hosts wasted little time making their mark. Keane Lewis-Potter opened the scoring after just 12 minutes with a superb finish, immediately putting Tottenham on the back foot.
Brentford doubled their advantage before half-time, with Vitaly Janelt unleashing a powerful effort that found the back of the net and gave the Bees a commanding lead.
Tottenham desperately needed a response after the interval, but De Zerbi’s side struggled to find any rhythm and soon fell even further behind.
Michael Kayode made it 3-0 after pouncing on the rebound when Antonin Kinsky could only parry the initial effort into his path. Brentford then had the chance to add a fourth from the penalty spot, but Igor Thiago failed to convert.
By then, however, the damage had already been done.
Here are the Tottenham player ratings from a hugely disappointing opening-day performance.
Antonin Kinsky – 3
He produced some important saves towards the end of last season, but this was a performance that brought back memories of his difficult moments against Atletico Madrid. Too often, his saves went straight back into dangerous areas and Brentford punished him.
Archie Gray – 4
He was handed the difficult responsibility of captaining Tottenham and had a limited impact from right-back. Still, his effort and willingness to compete could not be questioned.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 2
A Premier League defender before this match, but he certainly did not look like one here. He appeared completely overwhelmed at the back and was a significant downgrade from Cristian Romero.
Marcos Senesi – 3
If Senesi had not arrived as a free agent, Tottenham might already be wondering whether they made the right decision. It was a miserable debut from the Argentine at the heart of the defence, although there is nowhere to go but up after this.
Andy Robertson – 4
The standard was extremely low, but the former Liverpool defender was arguably the best of a poor Tottenham defensive unit.
Sandro Tonali – 2
Tottenham needed a midfielder who could control possession, dictate the tempo and keep things organised. Instead, they spent close to £100 million on Tonali, whose frantic approach often made it appear as though everything had to be done at maximum speed.
Conor Gallagher – 2
Having moved on from Atletico Madrid, Gallagher would have hoped for a fresh start in north London. Unfortunately, his Tottenham debut offered little encouragement as he struggled to impose himself on the game.
Lucas Bergvall – 2
With speculation surrounding his future during the summer, this was hardly the kind of performance Bergvall needed if he wanted to impress potential suitors. He struggled to make a meaningful impact.
Richarlison – 2
He failed to score, create, press effectively or influence the tempo. For much of the match, Richarlison offered very little going forward, leaving questions over what exactly he was bringing to Tottenham’s attack.
Mikey Moore – 3
The youngster showed plenty of promise when it came to finding dangerous positions, but his finishing let him down badly. He had three excellent opportunities and failed to make any of them count.
Mathys Tel – 2
Tel completed an ineffective Tottenham front three. He struggled to threaten the Brentford defence, which had a relatively comfortable afternoon dealing with Spurs’ attack.
Substitutes
Rodrigo Bentancur – 3
He was introduced to add some stability to midfield but conceded a penalty just 10 minutes after coming on. It was a frustrating contribution on a difficult afternoon for Tottenham.
Mateus Fernandes – 3
His introduction raised the question of why he had been left on the bench in the first place. He appeared capable of offering the midfield something that had been missing earlier in the match.
James Maddison – 4
It was good to see Maddison back on the pitch, although there was little else to highlight from his cameo.
Dominic Solanke – 4
The striker looked a long way from the player who regularly found the net during his prolific spell at Bournemouth.
Destiny Udogie – 4
He arrived late in the contest and performed reasonably well, but by then the result was already beyond Tottenham’s reach.
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