Tottenham Hotspur had an absolute shocker against Brentford, losing 3-0 to their London rivals at the Gtech Stadium in a 2026/27 Premier League season opener that sent a message opposite to what Spurs wanted to send to the rest of the league - and it definitely was not the result Spurs fans expected, even considering all the injuries and the fact that their big attacking additions were yet to make their debuts.
It was jarring to see how badly Tottenham were outplayed, and while Spurs were missing very important players and suffered some uncharacteristically poor individual performances, what truly stood out the most was how weak Spurs were in duels.
Brentford looked like an absolute machine at home, hungry to win and make mince meat out of the Tottenham starters. Spurs were second best to every loose ball and duel, and that goes beyond talent. Tottenham are coming off anothe 17th placed season in the Premier League and were dominated by Brentford in the 2025/26 season, but instead of coming out to make a statement on the road, they were the ones who got trampled.
Tottenham need to show much more fight
Roberto De Zerbi has to be looking at how weak, lethargic, and unmotivated his players are with a lot of concern. Tottenham Hotspur have fixed their talent deficiencies, and even acknowledging the fact that some of their most important players, like Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro, were not available or not actually starting in the XI, Spurs still had the better side on paper than Brentford.
The problem is that they did not show up. And in the Premier League today when so called mid table clubs like Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham, Sunderland, and more are actually playing great football with a lot of hunger, you just cannot win no matter how expensive your squad is or the names in the lineup if you get out fought the way Spurs did.
De Zerbi can't make the players fight more, and while that is a real worry, he is someone who can motivate them and has been successful at this in his career, including at N17 rather immediately last season.
Going into Matchday 2 against a tough Newcastle United side that will be competing with Tottenham for Champions League places this season, Spurs have to be a lot more physical, especially Sandro Tonali against the midfield of his old team. If they do not fight ten times harder next weekend, they will surely lose again.
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