Tottenham’s Premier League return got off to a painful start as Brentford powered into a 2-0 lead at the break in west London.
The hosts were dominant from the first whistle, and Keith Andrews’ side looked well worth their advantage. Spurs, despite fielding four new signings, struggled to create anything of note in the opening 45 minutes.
Keane Lewis-Potter broke the deadlock in the 12th minute. Club-record signing Mamadou Sangare played a neat exchange before squaring for the full back to finish from close range.
Brentford doubled their lead shortly after, capitalizing on a costly mistake by Lucas Bergvall, who gave the ball away in midfield. Antonin Kinsky parried Mathias Jensen’s shot, but Vitaly Janelt followed up to tuck the rebound into the net.
Tottenham, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, spent more than £200 million to strengthen their squad under Roberto De Zerbi. Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, and Sandro Tonali were all handed starts, yet the visitors failed to register a single shot on target before halftime.
Tonali’s hopelessly off-target attempt summed up Tottenham’s frustrations, a reminder that money alone cannot fix problems overnight.
Brentford’s first half display left Tottenham facing an uphill battle in the second period.
