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Roberto De Zerbi urges his Tottenham team to find the right spirit after the defeat to Brentford on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. Tottenham Hotspur endured a chastening Saturday afternoon at the Gtech Community Stadium as they were convincingly beaten 3-0 by Brentford on the opening weekend of the 2026/27 season. All the buzz and excitement created by the club loosening their purse strings on new signings and an unbeaten pre-season campaign in the summer was evaporated in just 90 minutes. Spurs were bullied by Brentford from start to finish, as goals from Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode sealed a deserved win for the hosts. Roberto De Zerbi says Tottenham players are yet to be physically 100 per cent The Tottenham boss handed starting debuts to Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali, while £85 million summer signing Mateus Fernandes was thrown on the pitch at half-time. However, the Lilywhites struggled to trouble Brentford’s well-drilled defence. The only meaningful chances fell to teenager Mikey Moore, and his efforts were dealt with well by Caoimhin Kelleher. After the game, Roberto De Zerbi was asked about the areas he thinks Tottenham must improve after the defeat to Brentford. To which he responded in an interview to Sky Sports (h/t BBC Sport). “We have to analyse this game. We cannot destroy everything because we are working well. Physical condition is not the same for all players because many started the season later. “I don’t want to make excuses, but we need to keep improving. We need to find the right spirit to fight but today, it wasn’t there. I expected better for sure. I didn’t expect this result, but I knew the problems we would find today.” Spurs were abject vs. Brentford Brentford had a clear game plan in mind, and the players executed it brilliantly. They produced a rip-roaring start, setting the tone of the game with their pressing, closing down, winning ground and aerial duels. Naturally, the home crowd cheered everything, and that led to lifting the players’ confidence levels. Tottenham put in one of their worst opening-day performances in recent history. The first half was forgettable, with our players failing to match the Bees’ intensity and physicality. Brentford’s midfield trio outmuscled and outworked Sandro Tonali, Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall, with the latter being partly culpable for the second goal. The second half had marginal improvements. The Tottenham supporters would have been pleased with Mateus Fernandes’ display off the bench. Bar Fernandes, there were no positives for De Zerbi to take from the game. The Italian boss admitted his new-look side made ‘a lot of mistakes’ and will need time to become a team, which was refreshing to hear. Hopefully, we see a much-improved team performance against Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup second round in midweek.