Tottenham endured a dismal start to their Premier League opener at Brentford as a starting XI featuring four new signings fell 2-0 behind in west London.
Spurs have spent over £200million in revamping a squad that narrowly avoided relegation last season, and summer arrivals Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali were all included from the start by Roberto De Zerbi.
But it was Brentford who were dominant from the first whistle, with a 2-0 lead the least Keith Andrews’ side deserved for their first-half showing.
Keane Lewis-Potter opened the scoring in the 12th minute for Brentford, whose club-record signing Mamadou Sangare played a superb give-and-go before squaring for the full-back to tuck the ball home.
Brentford did not take their foot off the gas, and their lead was doubled as the hosts ruthlessly punished a pair of Tottenham mistakes.
Lucas Bergvall was at fault as he lost possession in midfield and, after Antonin Kinsky could only parry Mathias Jensen’s drive, Vitaly Janelt made no mistake in converting on the rebound.
Spurs’ first half, which saw them fail to register a shot on target, was summed up by a hopelessly wayward effort from Tonali, their display illustrating the point that there will be no overnight fix for Tottenham despite their substantial transfer outlay.
