Tottenham Hotspur were criticised by two pundits after their damaging 3-0 defeat at Brentford in their Premier League opener.
Tottenham have backed Roberto De Zerbi with huge spending this summer, having broken their transfer record on Mateus Fernandes first of all and then Sandro Tonali. They have also paid £52million for Jan Paul van Hecke and agreed deals for Manchester City duo Savinho and Omar Marmoush.
Spurs fans will have been hoping for a fast start after two dire Premier League seasons, but they were subjected to yet more misery domestically.
Brentford took the lead in just the 12th minute when man-of-the-match Mamadou Sangare played a clever one-two with Dango Ouattara before setting up Keane Lewis-Potter for a simple finish.
Igor Thiago headed onto the crossbar seven minutes later as Brentford piled on the pressure.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute, as Richarlison failed to hold the ball up for Spurs, allowing Mathias Jensen to test Antonin Kinsky with a powerful effort.
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Kinsky should have done better with the shot, but he could only parry into the path of Vitaly Janelt, who swept home.
Brentford made it 3-0 shortly after half time, as a clever corner routine saw Sangare force a good diving save from Kinsky. Once again, however, Brentford were first to react, with Michael Kayode on hand to score.
Thiago missed a penalty as Brentford squandered the chance to go 4-0 up, while 19-year-old winger Mikey Moore failed to convert two good chances for Spurs.
Sky Sports co-commentator Alan Smith said the first half ‘could not have gone worse for De Zerbi’.
He added late in the game: “It is a miserable afternoon this for Spurs. They’ve looked pretty dreadful defensively, [but] you would expect things to improve.”
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Commentator Bill Leslie said ‘Tottenham Hotspur are crumbling’ before adding: “Shiny new players but a similar story for Spurs.”
In his post-match analysis, Jamie Redknapp said: “You probably would say they’re a team of strangers if you like, they didn’t have that know-how. Van Hecke and Senesi as a partnership never really won enough duels.
“I didn’t like the look of the team. I’m not a big fan of Gallagher in the 10, I thought, ‘Where’s that creativity gonna be?’
“Bergvall has had a tough six or seven months. The managers that have come in haven’t really seemed to trust him.
“Bring him in today, he lost the ball in the first few minutes, then he lost a duel for the goal. He just seemed to be not at ease with himself.
“But that was Tottenham to a man. They never looked a team that was ever gonna cause this Brentford side problems.”
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