De Zerbi: Tottenham are 'not a team' after 3-0 defeat at Brentford in Premier League opener
Roberto De Zerbi said Tottenham are "not a team" after they were beaten 3-0 by Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium in their Premier League opener on 22 August 2026.
Spurs arrived at the match aiming to build on a season in which they narrowly avoided relegation and amid expectations of more than £300m of summer spending, but were comprehensively outclassed by Brentford and handed a rude awakening in their opening game.
De Zerbi singled out the squad's cohesion and conditioning as issues, saying: "We are not a team yet for a lot of reasons," and adding: "Before you become a team you can’t say what you can do. We are not in the right physical condition for a lot of reasons. Some players came back late from the World Cup. In Australia we don’t work in the right way but it is not excuses. It is a normal situation when building a new project."
He emphasised a lack of aggression and missed challenges, saying: "I don’t want time but we have to pass through these problems. I cannot lose confidence in my players. I believe in my players, my club, myself. We are working well. We have to improve quickly. We could fight stronger than we did today. We lost too many duels today. We arrived second in the second balls. We didn’t win one second ball, one duel, one tackle."
Tottenham handed debuts to Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, and De Zerbi noted absences: he was without Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso and Micky van de Ven, while Rodrigo Bentancur, who started on the bench, "came back late in pre-season." On squad-building he said: "There are steps to become better. Now the target is to become a team. You can’t become a team from the transfer market on paper. You become a team when the players find a connection, a spirit, a soul. It’s a project." The club are also reported to be close to signing Omar Marmoush and Savinho from Manchester City.
Brentford's goals came from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode, and the hosts received a standout midfield performance from Mamadou Sangaré, the £39m signing from Lens, described as an "outstanding debut in midfield" in the match report.
"It was a fine way for Brentford to start their second year under Keith Andrews," Andrews said, adding: "The club deserve a lot of credit for getting that deal done. You’ve seen today what he’s capable of, the attributes he has. It adds to a talented midfield. I really enjoyed his performance today. He’s slotted in really well. He’s a humble young man who’s very, very hungry."