Spurs had 59.8% of the ball and no shot on target until the second half. Brentford had 26 shots

Tottenham spent the summer rebuilding and started five of the new arrivals. Twelve minutes in they were behind, and by the time Michael Kayode made it three just after the break the rebuild looked like what Jamie Redknapp called it afterwards: a team of strangers.

Brentford did not need the ball. They finished the night with 40.2% of it and twenty-six shots — eight on target, one off the woodwork — against nine from a Spurs side that did not force a save in the first half.

Sangare ran the game Brentford wanted to play

Club-record signing Mamadou Sangare set up the opener for Keane Lewis-Potter on twelve minutes and never gave the middle back. Vitaly Janelt made it two on 33, and Kayode finished the job four minutes into the second half.

It should have been four. Thiago put a 55th-minute penalty against the post — the only thing that went wrong for Brentford all evening.

The duel numbers tell the rest. Richarlison won two of his eight. New signing Jan Paul van Hecke won two of seven. "We suffered physically," De Zerbi said. "We were not ready to fight the duels."

Match facts

• 12' — Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford), assisted by Mamadou Sangare
• 33' — Vitaly Janelt (Brentford)
• 49' — Michael Kayode (Brentford)
• 55' — Thiago hit the post with a Brentford penalty
• Tottenham did not register a shot on target in the first half

The result held up over five matchweeks

That opening-day scoreline turned out to set the tone for both clubs' first two months. Brentford went unbeaten through the following four matchweeks, taking two wins and three draws without a single defeat, and scored ten goals across those five games while conceding only four — form that had Keith Andrews' side up to 4th in the Premier League table by matchweek 5, level on 9 points with Leeds United, Liverpool and Everton.

1. Matchweek 1: won 3-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur
2. Matchweek 2: drew 1-1 away at Leeds United
3. Matchweek 3: drew 1-1 at home to Sunderland
4. Matchweek 4: drew 2-2 away at Bournemouth
5. Matchweek 5: won 3-0 at home to Chelsea

Tottenham's five-match wait for a first win

Tottenham's response went the other way. The defeat at the Gtech was the first of five matchweeks without a win for Roberto De Zerbi's rebuilt squad: a home loss to Newcastle United, scoreless draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton, and a 2-3 collapse against Aston Villa in which Spurs trailed 3-0 before a late rally fell short. By matchweek 5 that sequence had left Tottenham 20th with two points from five games and a goal difference of -6 — statistically the club's worst start to a Premier League season.

What the table says now

Five matchweeks on, the standings reflect the gap that opened at the Gtech. Brentford's 9 points have them 4th, level with Leeds United and six points off leaders Manchester City. Tottenham's two points leave them 20th and bottom of the Premier League table, level with 19th-placed Fulham on points and one point short of climbing out of the relegation zone the table reserves for 18th-20th.

What's next

Brentford go to Leeds United on Sunday 30 August, promoted opposition and a chance to make this a proper start rather than a one-off. Tottenham host Newcastle on Saturday 29 August — a home crowd that will want an answer, and only six days to find one.