Glenn Hoddle says De Zerbi blamed Mikey Moore in Brentford thrashing

Keane Lewis‑Potter opened the scoring as Brentford surged to a 3‑0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night, a result that prompted former England midfielder Glenn Hoddle to claim Roberto De Zerbi had singled out Mikey Moore for the Spurs’ defensive frailties.

Brentford added two further strikes through Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode, sealing a deserved win for Keith Andrews’ side. Tottenham struggled to trouble Brentford’s defence throughout the match. The loss left Spurs unable to create clear scoring opportunities.

Brentford's clinical start

The Bees opened the scoring early, prompting Brentford coach Keith Andrews to praise his team's execution. Brentford’s first goal came after a mis‑directed pass that allowed Richarlison to press the goalkeeper, a moment Hoddle later described as a waste of energy. Roberto De Zerbi handed starting debuts to Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali, and introduced £85 million summer signing Mateus Fernandes as a half‑time substitute.

These lineup changes highlighted the influx of new players in Tottenham’s squad and underscored the challenge of integrating them quickly.

Spurs' tactical woes

De Zerbi admitted his side were not ready to fight in duels, saying Mikey Moore’s positioning in the left centre caused the timing of pressure to be off and that the team arrived too many times late in pressing phases. He apologised for the defeat, acknowledging the need to improve physical condition and organisation. Glenn Hoddle argued that Spurs struggled with Archie Gray and Mikey Moore down the right side, noting they were not pressing together and that it was “no good one person going on his own”.

Hoddle also said the team were not up for the 50‑50s and lost too many duels, reinforcing De Zerbi’s criticism of the pressing approach. He suggested abandoning the original game plan in the first half and playing more directly, using longer goal kicks to pin Brentford in their own half for the opening 20 minutes. He proposed sending every goal kick to the halfway line and keeping the ball in Brentford’s half before opening up the game, believing this adjustment could have prevented Brentford’s early pressure.

The 3‑0 defeat marked a convincing Premier League opener for Brentford and a disappointing start for Tottenham. As Hoddle and De Zerbi both acknowledged, Spurs must address their pressing and physicality if they are to avoid further setbacks.