Tottenham started their first full Premier League campaign under Roberto De Zerbi in nightmare fashion as they were thrashed 3-0 by Brentford on Saturday.

Spurs were all at sea right from the first whistle at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt giving Brentford a deserved two-goal lead within 33 minutes.

The second of those goals came from some suspect goalkeeping from Antonin Kinsky, who was also guilty of parrying Mamadou Sangare's volley to Michael Kayode for Brentford's third early in the second half.

Spurs, who only introduced new £85m midfielder Mateus Fernandes from the bench at half-time, could have lost by an even bigger scoreline, too, if not for Igor Thiago hitting the post from the penalty spot.

Spurs were under pressure from the first whistle, as Nathan Collins headed wide when totally unmarked and Jan Paul van Hecke narrowly avoided turning Lewis-Potter's cross into his own net.

And Lewis-Potter put Brentford in front with a simple side-footed finish in the 12th minute, after new signing Sangare played a one-two with Thiago and burst into the penalty area to provide the assist.

It was 2-0 just after the half-hour mark, with Richarlison putting Spurs in trouble when he lost the ball cheaply near halfway. Mathias Jensen's long-range effort was only parried by Kinsky, and a grateful Janelt tapped into an unguarded net.

It was a similar story for Brentford's third goal, which arrived via Kayode in the 49th minute after Kinsky's failure to hold onto a stinging volley from the impressive Sangare.

Thiago missed a great chance to get in on the goals soon afterwards, hitting the post from a penalty after Spurs substitute Rodrigo Bentancur fouled Kevin Schade from behind.

That miss ultimately proved inconsequential, though, with Mikey Moore missing Spurs' only two chances to get a consolation goal on a miserable day for De Zerbi's men.

Brentford 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Brentford eased to a 3-0 win over Tottenham, but in truth it could have been even worse for Roberto De Zerbi's side. pic.twitter.com/au5AY5EK2C

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 22, 2026

Brentford buzzing after outstanding start

Having watched Manchester United make a dire start to their first full season under Michael Carrick earlier on Saturday, going down 2-0 to newly promoted Hull City, De Zerbi's Spurs made a similarly poor first impression in 2026-27.

There were 15 passes in the build-up to Lewis-Potter's opening goal, with the contribution made by club-record signing Sangare being particularly eye-catching.

That is the third most passes in the build-up to any Premier League goal scored by Brentford under Keith Andrews, after Kayode's effort versus Wolves in March (19) and Rico Henry's goal against Bournemouth last December (18).

It was precisely the brand of football that Tottenham's fans expect to see in their first full season under De Zerbi, particularly after they rebuilt their midfield with the big-money acquisitions of Sandro Tonali and Fernandes. 

Instead, the visitors struggled to build any momentum as Brentford's physicality saw them dominate the midfield area. With the Bees' third goal coming in the 49th minute, they have only led 3-0 at an earlier stage of a home Premier League game once – against Man Utd in August 2022.

Seven different Brentford players had a shot on target throughout the match, while just two Spurs players tested Caoimhin Kelleher in the hosts' net. The Bees also dominated the expected goals battle, putting up 3.96 xG to Tottenham's 0.47.

De Zerbi's side host Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, before taking on Newcastle United in their second Premier League game, and the Italian will know a huge improvement is required.