Tottenham lost 3-0 to Brentford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Keane Lewis-Potter scored the opener in the 12th minute.
Match Overview
Brentford ran all over the North London club, taking advantage of a Spurs side that had spent heavily in the summer window. Lewis-Potter opened the scoring after 12 minutes, and a second goal from Vitaly Janelt before half-time gave the Bees breathing space. Tottenham were unable to respond in the second half, and Michael Kayode added a third after Antonin Kinsky parried a shot into his path. Igor Thiago missed a penalty, but the damage was already done.
Key Moments
The first goal came from a swift counter-attack that saw Lewis-Potter finish a quick break. Janelt’s second goal was a calm finish into the back of the net, and Kayode’s header was a direct result of Kinsky’s misjudged clearance. The missed penalty from Thiago was the only moment Tottenham could have salvaged something from the match.
Player Ratings
Express Sport rated each Tottenham player on a scale of 1 to 10. The majority of the squad received scores of 2/10 or lower: - Antonin Kinsky - 1 - Made some crucial saves last season but was punished on more than one occasion. - Archie Gray - 4 - Captained the side but had limited influence at right-back. - Jan Paul van Hecke - 2 - Lost at the back and a downgrade on Cristian Romero. - Marcos Senesi - 3 - A dismal debut at the heart of defence. - Andy Robertson - 4 - The best of a very bad bunch. - Sandro Tonali - 2 - Unable to do anything at less than 100 miles per hour. - Conor Gallagher - 2 - Swapped one circus for another. - Lucas Bergvall - 2 - Performance did not justify a place in the shop window. - Richarlison - 2 - Lacked scoring, creating, pressing, tempo, and threat. - Mikey Moore - 3 - Finished poorly despite creating promising positions. - Mathys Tel - 2 - The final part of Spurs’ front three.
Substitutes
The bench also received low ratings: - Rodrigo Bentancur - 3 - Came on to try to steady the midfield but gave away a penalty ten minutes later. - Mateus Fernandes - 3 - Questioned why he was starting on the bench. - James Maddison - 4 - Returned to the pitch but did not add much. - Dominic Solanke - 4 - A shadow of his Bournemouth form. - Destiny Udogie - 4 - Came on late and was fine.
The match ended with Tottenham unable to find a way back into the game, and the last concrete detail is that Destiny Udogie came on late and was fine.
