De Zerbi demands rapid Tottenham improvement after 3-0 Brentford defeat

Roberto De Zerbi said Tottenham are not yet functioning as a team after they began their Premier League season with a 3-0 defeat away to Brentford. According to The Guardian, the Spurs head coach questioned his side's physical readiness and said they had not fought strongly enough at the Gtech Community Stadium.

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Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode scored for Brentford, giving Keith Andrews a winning start to his second season in charge. De Zerbi said Tottenham lost too many duels, tackles and contests for second balls, leaving him demanding rapid improvement as his new project moves beyond its opening match.

Tottenham gave debuts to five players: Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. De Zerbi argued that assembling players in the transfer market does not automatically create a connected side, identifying collective spirit and relationships on the pitch as the next stage of the team's development.

The coach also pointed to a disrupted buildup. He said some players returned late from the World Cup and that Tottenham did not work as they should have during their preseason trip to Australia. Rodrigo Bentancur, who began the game among the substitutes, was one of the players who returned late, while Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven were unavailable.

Despite the scale of the opening defeat, De Zerbi maintained his confidence in his players, the club and his own work. He accepted that a new project must pass through difficult stages but made clear that the performance could not be excused by the circumstances, with Tottenham needing to become competitive quickly.

Brentford's victory also featured an impressive midfield debut from Mamadou Sangaré, who joined from Lens for £39 million. Andrews praised the club for completing the deal and highlighted the new signing's attributes, hunger and smooth integration into an already talented midfield. For Tottenham, the contrast reinforced De Zerbi's central concern: new personnel must be converted into a cohesive team before ambitions can be measured.