Tottenham had a surprising beginning to the new Premier League season as they were dismantled by a remarkable Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Spurs have invested around £237m this summer, twice surpassing their transfer record, to prevent a recurrence of last season’s difficulties, when they had to wait until the last day to secure their place in the top flight.
Four of their summer acquisitions – defenders Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, and Jan Paul van Hecke, along with club record £100m signing Sandro Tonali – all began in west London.
Spurs found themselves 2-0 behind within 33 minutes, with unmarked full-back Keane Lewis-Potter scoring the opener in the 12th minute after receiving a pass in the box from Brentford’s record summer signing Mamadou Sangare.
Sangare was impressed as Brentford thoroughly overpowered their London rivals, so it was no shock when they extended their lead with Vitaly Janelt’s tap-in following Antonin Kinsky’s save from Mathias Jensen.
Although Brentford displayed great energy and posed a threat, Spurs did not manage to make a shot on target in the first half.
Tottenham manager Roberto de Zerbi implemented a double substitution at the beginning of the second half, bringing on £85m acquisition Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur for Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall.
However, the situation deteriorated further for Spurs as Michael Kayode scored the third goal when the ball came to him after a saved shot from midfielder Sangare.
It seemed poised to worsen for De Zerbi’s team when Bentancur fouled Kevin Schade and referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty.
Igor Thiago’s penalty struck the post and bounced back to safety after Kinsky moved in the opposite direction.
It offered minimal comfort for Spurs, who were decisively defeated by a smooth and very effective Brentford side full of self-assurance.
