Wayne Rooney baffled by 'strange' Roberto De Zerbi comments on Match of the Day after Tottenham loss vs Brentford

Wayne Rooney was struggling to understand Roberto De Zerbi's reaction to Tottenham's 3-0 defeat to Brentford on Saturday.

Spurs were blown away in their opening match of the new Premier League season, with Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Michael Kayode all getting on the scoresheet at the Gtech Stadium.

It was an abysmal performance from Tottenham, who avoided relegation to the Championship by the skin of their teeth last season and have spent huge sums of money on new signings throughout the summer.

After the 3-0 loss, De Zerbi told Match of the Day seemed to use the World Cup as an excuse for his side's awful performance in West London.

However, only five of the players who started at Brentford played at the World Cup earlier this summer, and only Rodrigo Bentancur starred there out of those who came off the bench.

Rooney wasn't impressed by the reaction of De Zerbi, who even singled out Sandro Tonali's lack of fitness despite him not playing at the World Cup.

What Roberto De Zerbi said about Tottenham's loss to Brentford

As well as blaming fitness levels, De Zerbi also admitted he was taken aback by how his team played.

"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 said.

"I am surprised by the result and performance. I knew we were not in the right condition. We can't find an excuse. I am sorry for the result and performance. We are starting a new project and we couldn't find the principal.

"Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali are not in the best physical condition. We knew that before the game. We have to improve on that and many other things, like organisation and pressing."

He's right about the latter.

Lucas Bergvall's role in Brentford's second goal saw him completely duck out of a challenge, allowing the Bees to march forward and score through Janelt.

As per stats by Sofascore, Spurs had 60 per cent of possession but Brentford had a staggering 26 shots at goal.

They created six big chances compared to Tottenham's two.

Spurs did just about edge it when it came to ground duels, winning 54 per cent of all encounters, but Brentford's aerial superiority said a lot, with the West Londoners winning 64 per cent of them.

Tottenham also committed two errors that led to a shot and one that led to a goal, suggesting that fitness wasn't the big issue - it was application and potentially concentration.

And Rooney let them know that on Match of the Day.

Wayne Rooney's reaction to Tottenham's defeat vs Brentford

Speaking on Match of the Day on BBC One on Saturday night, Rooney said: "It was really strange to hear the manager say about fitness levels.

"You get it after a World Cup, I've been there and I know that some players are at different stages.

"But what you want is a commitment and a hunger.

"Tottenham looked really off it. You can sign players - and they've needed new players, the last few seasons have shown that - but it looks like there's no plan for the players they've signed

"That was worrying. The way they've spent on those players, that was worrying."

Spurs' back line was probably the biggest issue overall, despite them not playing too badly.

De Zerbi named Archie Gray as captain at right-back but played three new signings across left-back and centre-back in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and van Hecke.

The midfield definitely under-performed the most though and a lot of people will be looking at Tonali's debut in the engine room.

De Zerbi has given an excuse about Tonali's fitness, but with him not playing at the World Cup this summer and only suffering a minor injury earleir in the summer, it does set a worrying precedent about how he's going to settle into life in North London.