Brentford 3-0 Spurs | Roberto De Zerbi’s verdict
Roberto De Zerbi said it was important to ‘stay calm’ after our disappointing 3-0 loss at Brentford in our Premier League opener on Saturday evening.
Four of our new signings – Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Sandro Tonali – all started, joined by fellow new recruit Mateus Fernandes in the second half.
There was so much positivity in the build up, but Brentford went ahead early through Keane Lewis-Potter and didn’t let up. Vitaly Janelt doubled the lead on 33 minutes and Michael Kayode essentially put the game beyond doubt with a third goal four minutes into the second half. Igor Thiago also missed a penalty.
Mikey Moore had our best chance saved by Caoimhin Kelleher in the second half but it was a day to forget, as both Roberto and skipper Archie Gray – our youngest ever captain for a competitive fixture – pointed to the team losing ‘too many duels’.
Speaking to us pitchside afterwards, Roberto said: “I'm sorry for the result, I'm sorry for the performance, for the players, for our fans, but I knew before the game, I knew from last Saturday when we played against Hoffenheim, we are not at the right point in terms of physical condition for a lot of reasons.
“For the players, they came after the World Cup and they came late for the pre-season in Australia where we had not time to work in the right way, in the best way, but it's not an excuse. Our first 11 today was very young, but it was enough to compete in a different way.
“We lost too many duels. We didn't find the right timing to go in the high pressure. I think it's a sad day for us because I'm disappointed for the result, for the performance, but we have to be good, to analyse well the defeat.
“We can't lose the confidence. We can't lose what we created last season. We have to improve, yes, we have to put something more than today, individually and collectively, but anyway, be calm, because the project has just started and I think we are working well.
“We have to stay calm and put the focus on the improvement we have to do. I think we are all in the right situation to build something special, maybe not immediately, we need time, but I think we are in a good way."