Brentford handed Tottenham Hotspur a bruising start to the 2026/27 Premier League season on Saturday, defeating Roberto De Zerbi’s side 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode scored for Brentford as the hosts dominated a Tottenham side featuring several new signings following an expensive summer rebuild.

Lewis-Potter opened the scoring in the 12th minute before Janelt doubled Brentford’s advantage in the first half. Kayode then struck four minutes after the restart to effectively put the contest beyond Spurs.

Brentford also had an opportunity to extend the margin further after being awarded a penalty in the second half, but Igor Thiago’s effort struck the post.

Tottenham struggled to create meaningful chances during the opening period and went into half-time without registering a shot on target, despite fielding a heavily reconstructed squad.

Summer arrivals Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Sandro Tonali all started, while Mateus Fernandes was introduced after the interval.

Spurs manager De Zerbi acknowledged after the match that his side had been second best physically and had lost too many individual battles.

He said Tottenham’s preparations had been complicated by players returning late following the World Cup and by the limited time available to integrate several new signings, although he insisted those circumstances were not an excuse for the performance.

The defeat is particularly striking because Tottenham invested heavily during the summer in an attempt to rebuild a team that had finished 17th in each of the previous two Premier League seasons.

Reuters reported that Spurs spent more than £300 million strengthening the squad before the new campaign, including major investments in Tonali and Fernandes.

Despite that spending, Brentford looked considerably more settled.

The hosts went ahead when Lewis-Potter found the net early in the contest. Janelt added the second shortly after the half-hour mark before Kayode capitalised on another Brentford attack early in the second half.

Tottenham’s official match report confirmed that Mikey Moore produced the visitors’ best opportunities after the break, but Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher denied him on three occasions.

De Zerbi urged supporters not to lose confidence after the defeat, saying Tottenham’s rebuilding project would require time.

“We can’t lose the confidence,” the manager said, while acknowledging that improvements were required both individually and collectively.

For Brentford, the result represents a perfect start to the campaign and their first Premier League home victory over Tottenham.

For Spurs, attention will quickly turn to their next league fixture against Newcastle United as De Zerbi attempts to turn a collection of expensive new arrivals into a more cohesive side.

The final score at the Gtech Community Stadium was Brentford 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur.