The London derby of the first round of the English Premier League ended with a convincing victory for Brentford over Tottenham with a score of 3:0. Roberto De Zerbi's team suffered a sensational defeat in the capital showdown, while the home side delivered a disciplined performance and confidently converted the chances they created. Ukrainian midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk also featured for Brentford, coming on as a substitute in the second half. The match summary is reported by Sport RBC.UA.
Goal timeline: the hosts left no chances
Brentford opened the scoring as early as the 12th minute: Keane Lewis-Potter seized the moment and put the hosts ahead. In the middle of the first half, Janelt doubled the "Canaries'" advantage, and before the break Tottenham failed to respond to the two goals conceded. At the start of the second half, Michael Kayode scored the third goal, effectively settling the question of the winner. In the 55th minute the hosts could have made it 4:0, however Igor Thiago missed a penalty, missing the chance to completely demoralise the opponent.
New signings' debuts failed to save the Spurs
Even the debuts of new acquisitions Andrew Robertson and Sandro Tonali did not help Tottenham. Both players took to the pitch in the opening round, yet the "Spurs" failed to break the opponent's defence and finished the match without scoring. By the end of the game the visitors were behind in all key attacking metrics, unable to impose an equal contest on the hosts.
Ukrainian accent: Yarmolyuk from the bench
Brentford's Ukrainian midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk started the match on the bench and came on in the second half, in the 68th minute. The substitution helped the hosts maintain control of the game in the closing stages and seal the final 3:0. Thus, Yarmolyuk contributed to the team's first major success in the new Premier League season.
Context and significance of the result
The win in the first round was an important signal for Brentford at the start of the championship, while De Zerbi's Tottenham took a heavy blow right at the beginning of the season. Squad reshuffles and the debuts of new signings failed to compensate for the visitors' tactical problems, as they were unable to create sufficient pressure on the opponent's goal. The 3:0 result in the capital derby underlines Brentford's high competitiveness and sets the tone for the further battle in the tournament.
