Roberto De Zerbi has criticised four Tottenham players after their 3-0 Premier League defeat to Brentford, naming three new signings for poor physical condition and Mikey Moore for mistakes.
Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode scored at the Gtech Community Stadium as Spurs suffered a nightmare start to the season. De Zerbi was disappointed after spending over £200m on new signings this summer, with more expected before the transfer window closes.
Physical condition concerns
De Zerbi told the BBC: 'Bad game. We lost and suffered the difference in the duels. It was the key of this game. We didn't fight in the right way. Maybe credit to them because it's the best quality Brentford have.'
He added: 'Our physical condition was not at the right level for all players because many came later after the World Cup and there were many new players in the squad and first XI. But we have to analyse this game better because we can't play this way in this type of game.'
He named Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali as not being in the best physical condition, saying: 'We knew that before the game. We have to improve on that and many other things, like organisation and pressing.'
Moore and Bergvall under scrutiny
De Zerbi criticised 19-year-old winger Mikey Moore, who started the game, saying: 'I think we made a lot of mistakes in the timing of the pressure with Mikey Moore in the left centre, we arrived too many times late. We lost too many duels to compete with Brentford.'
Lucas Bergvall was substituted at half-time, with De Zerbi admitting he expected the midfielder to struggle. He defended the Swede, who gave the ball away in the build-up to Janelt's goal, saying: 'Lucas Bergvall, the second goal. I think he didn't play bad today, even if I substituted in the half-time. But Lucas Bergvall in the next two years, he will not lose that ball in that moment of the game.'
De Zerbi said he chose Bergvall over Rodrigo Bentancur because Bentancur came late in pre-season, adding: 'I knew before the game, Lucas Bergvall, in this type of game, maybe he could suffer more than Rodrigo Bentancur, 9 years older, and Lucas, 20.'
