Tottenham Hotspur had a huge chance to start their season off with a bang as they took on Paris Saint-Germain for the UEFA Super Cup. A tough assignment on any day of the week, Spurs took an early lead and looked nailed on to take the match before PSG rallied late to send the match to penalties as the match finished two-apiece in normal time. The French side were more clinical in the shootout, dispatching four of their five penalties, and adding another piece of silverware to the Parisians’ trophy cabinet as Spurs were left wondering what could have been.
Both managers raised eyebrows with their starting XIs. PSG lined up in a very attacking 4-2-4, with key midfielder Fabian Ruiz on the bench, while Thomas Frank set up his Spurs side in a 3-4-1-2 formation. It was a tactical setup that Frank regularly deployed against sides he perceived as stronger while in charge of Brentford, but not one seen at Spurs through preseason. With that formation in mind, Frank’s player selections were largely unsurprising, with the expected selections in defense, a stodgy midfield three in the form of Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, and Pape Matar Sarr, and Richarlison and Mohamed Kudus starting up front.
The first half was very much a patchy affair, with one side extremely rusty, coming into the match with limited build-up, and the other looking to disrupt tempo and impede any fluidity of a very dangerous opponent. Clear-cut chances were limited: a couple of cut-backs from PSG were the only moments of consternation for the Spurs defense; while the long throw made an appearance on a couple of occasions, causing PSG to scramble to clear. More scrambling was required by PSG keeper Lucas Chevalier, as Richarlison tried his luck from distance on a fast break, forcing Chevalier into a very good save.
It always felt likely that a set piece would create a scoring opportunity for Spurs, and that proved to be the case. Guglielmo Vicario swung in a free kick from around the halfway line, which captain Cristian Romero won and headed centrally. Micky van de Ven contested the ball before it fell to Palhinha, doing well to get an effort on target with the ball bouncing. PSG keeper Lucas Chevalier saved impressively at close range, palming the shot onto the bar, but Van de Ven was quickest to the rebound, slotting past the Frenchman and giving Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 halftime lead.
Spurs doubled their lead soon after the break in a similar manner. Another free kick was swung in towards the box, this time by Pedro Porro from slightly higher up the pitch, and Cristian Romero met the delivery out on the left, timing his run well to get free of the PSG defense. This time, Spurs’ captain was close enough to direct his header on target, where Chevalier managed to get both hands to the attempt but made a meal of the save, the ball nestling in the back of the net rather than the keeper’s gloves.
PSG began to look more dangerous as the match wore on, with both sides tiring and Fabian Ruiz entering the match, making a significant impact. His passing and ability on the ball started to find PSG attackers in more open situations, with some impressive last-ditch defending required by Spurs. PSG got in behind on a couple of occasions, even managing to get the ball in Guglielmo Vicario’s net; however, though Spurs were saved by the offside flag, fantastic blocks by Cristian Romero and Kevin Danso were great examples of how tough this new-look Spurs side could be to break down.
That wouldn’t last, though, with PSG refusing to let the match meander to a conclusion. They kept pushing forward and finally made their possession count, scoring via a fantastic strike to make things interesting. A headed clearance fell to Vitinha outside Spurs’ 18-yard box, with the Portuguese midfielder feeding the ball to Lee Kang-In. The Korean attacker struck the ball cleanly from range past Vicario’s despairing dive, and PSG were all of a sudden back in the match.
With six minutes added time signalled by the assistant referee, nerves would have surely been high amongst the players on the pitch. Spurs bunkered in, and PSG continued to throw everything forward. Achraf Hakimi fed the run of Ousmane Dembele down Spurs’ left, and his cross was met by Goncalo Ramos, the glancing header sliding past Vicario. Out of nowhere, the score was 2-2, and Spurs all of a sudden looked tired. Players were cramping up all over the pitch, not least Cristian Romero, but Spurs managed to make it to the fulltime whistle without conceding again - the reward a penalty shootout.
Spurs took the lead early in the shootout, with authoritative strikes by Dominic Solanke and Bentancur, while Vitinha missed following an extremely stilted run-up. Ramos and Dembele then scored their penalties, while Van de Ven had his saved to even the ledger. It was a poor penalty, a saveable height and neither down the middle nor in the corner, but not as poor as Mathys Tel’s. The Frenchman lined up as Spurs’ fourth taker, but followed Vitinha’s example, halting his run-up and hooking his shot wide. With Lee Kang-In slotting his effort, Pedro Porro had to net his penalty, and did so with aplomb, hitting the top-right corner. Unfortunately, with PSG in the ascendancy, all Nuno Mendes needed to do was hit the net, and he did so, securing the UEFA Super Cup for PSG in a late turnaround.
Well. Spurs are back. I hope you’re happy.
That’s a pretty gutting loss, in all honesty. It felt like Spurs had done enough to secure the win, but a side like PSG is never dead and buried.
Thomas Frank’s tactics were impressive, and really disrupted the PSG build-up, especially in the first half. I really enjoy a manager who can coach opponent-specific setups, and this one nearly paid off.
His substitutions unfortunately did not have the required impact. The changes were the right ones to make, but the players that came in largely played poorly. The loss of an outlet up top in the form of Richarlison and Kudus was especially impactful, with Solanke and Tel completely ineffective, allowing PSG to pile pressure on Spurs. Let’s not talk about Tel’s penalty.
To focus on some of the positives, Pape Matar Sarr was excellent, continuing his preseseason form and building on his fantastic display in the Europa League final. He was everywhere, winning two tackles, four interceptions, and making seven ball recoveries. His off-ball ability is so good; if he can build a little on his on-ball quality, baby, we got a stew going.
Rodrigo Bentancur also looks much more comfortable in this double-pivot setup under Frank than he did as the lone #6 under Ange. Palhinha was solid as well, much improved on his poor showing against Bayern Munich.
Djed Spence was also brilliant on the left. I think he’s honestly just a left back; he’s continually looked more comfortable on that side of the pitch than on the right.
The long throw made an appearance! You can see though how important set pieces will be to this side. I would say that maybe that means we don’t need the passing through midfield… but the inability to retain possession late on really made it glaringly obvious why that is not the case.
That’s a pretty big downer just a few days before the start of the Premier League season. Hopefully the side can get their heads up quickly as they look to Burnley in the weekend.
COYS!