· 2 min readIn this Brentford vs Tottenham match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
The Premier League started with a very serious test for Tottenham. After a season in which they came close to being relegated, the club invested heavily at Roberto De Zerbi’s request, and now there is pressure to see just how far this new team can go. The problem is that their first opponent was Brentford, a team that rarely makes things easy, with Igor Thiago up front after the 22 goals he scored in the last Premier League season.
And Brentford wasted no time showing who was in control. In the 12th minute, after a good positional move, Sangaré found Igor Thiago, who returned the ball first time into his run. Sangaré had space and picked out Lewis-Potter inside the box, with the left-back doing the simplest thing possible to open the scoring. A perfectly constructed goal and a completely deserved lead. 1-0.
Brentford was everywhere. They pressed high, recovered the ball quickly, and didn’t let Tottenham breathe. In the 19th minute, Igor Thiago even hit the crossbar, although the play was eventually ruled offside. By the 23rd minute, the feeling was clear: it wasn’t just Brentford playing with more intensity, it was a team that seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation.
On the other side, Tottenham had no answers. The midfield practically disappeared. Tonali wasn’t getting involved, Gallagher was on a yellow and barely influential, while Bergvall had a first half to forget. In the 33rd minute, he lost the ball again while trying to play out, Jensen shot and Kinsky did what he could to save it, but the ball fell to Janelt, who made it 2-0. A horrible first half from Tottenham.
The situation got even worse in the second half. In the 48th minute, a corner reached the far post and Sangaré’s shot forced a good save from Kinsky. The goalkeeper prevented a third goal for the moment, but Kayode was in the right place to pounce on the rebound and put the ball into the back of the net.
Tottenham tried to respond. Moore forced Kelleher into a good save on a counterattack and, shortly after, Brentford was awarded a penalty after Bentancur fouled Kevin Schade. Igor Thiago, however, hit the post. The score remained 3-0.
Tottenham started to have a lot of the ball, reaching 68% possession in the second half, but that meant very little. They lacked speed, lacked space, or rather, they still lacked everything. Mateus Fernandes did find Moore in a good position, but the winger chose to shoot instead of playing the ball back and wasted a huge opportunity.
Brentford was already managing the game comfortably. They defended well, closed down the spaces, and allowed Tottenham to circulate the ball without creating much danger. The more the visitors tried to attack, the more exposed they became, even allowing Brentford a few dangerous counterattacks.
In the 82nd minute, Tottenham fans started leaving the stadium. And it was hard to blame them. The investment was huge, but the debut was a complete disaster: 3-0, no real threat for most of the game, and a team that looked lost for far too many minutes.
Post-match
Tottenham fans had a lot of optimism heading into the start of the season, and they were given a reality check. A 3-0 loss in the first game of the season could point to several negative signs and suggest that this season could end up looking a lot like the previous ones.
