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Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi delivered an honest verdict on his team’s disappointing start to the Premier League season, admitting they did not show the required fight. The north London side were thrashed 3-0 by Brentford, with the Italian coach left to reflect on both the physical and tactical weaknesses in his side’s display.

Physical struggles at the Gtech

Tottenham’s new chapter under De Zerbi got off to a poor start in west London as they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 through goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode. The Italian was quick to explain why his side came up short against Keith Andrews’s sharp and clinical Bees, pointing in particular to a lack of physical strength throughout the pitch.

“We suffered physically but we knew that before the game,” De Zerbi told Sky Sports. “We were not ready to fight the duels. We made a lot of mistakes in the timing of the pressure with Mikey Moore. We arrived too many times late and we lost too many duels to compete with Brentford. I am sorry for the defeat. I know we have to improve in our physical condition, in the 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. Today I think there was the soul but we didn’t fight in the right way.”

Tactical malfunctions and duel deficits

Spurs slumped to a heavy 3-0 loss, equalling their joint-worst opening-day result in Premier League history, a mark previously set against Manchester United in 2011-12. The sobering defeat served as an early reality check despite the strong expectations surrounding De Zerbi, who was appointed to guide the club away from another punishing season after they only escaped relegation trouble on the final day of the previous campaign.

Looking deeper into the performance, the manager added: “I believe in my players. Especially in the first half, we were not in the right position to make the right pressure. If you analyse the game, you can see how many duels we lost in the first half when the game went in Brentford’s direction. We didn’t play well. We didn’t fight in the right way. Not because we didn’t remember the last season. Because these players are good people and with value and memory. But we lost too many duels.”

Integration of new signings

There had been considerable optimism around Spurs before the new Premier League season after a major £237m summer rebuild. De Zerbi immediately named four new signings in his starting XI, with £100m headline arrival Sandro Tonali deployed in midfield alongside a reshaped backline featuring Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke.

“The first XI should be able to compete normally if the game went in this way,” De Zerbi insisted. “I don’t lose confidence in my players and these people. We have to work and improve, analyse the game better and find the improvement. We have to analyse this game. We cannot destroy everything because we are working well. Physical condition is not the same for all players because many started the season later.”

Focusing on the road ahead

The 3-0 result underlined just how much work still needs to be done, although the former Brighton manager was not completely taken aback by the type of problems his side encountered. With the campaign only just under way, attention now turns to a demanding stretch in which Spurs will try to respond and collect their first points of the season when they host Newcastle United on August 29. Before that league match, they will have an immediate chance to get back on track when they welcome Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

The Italian wrapped up his assessment by saying: “I expected better for sure. I didn’t expect this result but I knew the problems we would find today.” Brentford may have beaten Tottenham convincingly to take all three points, but Spurs do at least have an immediate opportunity to reset.