PSG erased Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 lead late in the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday, equalizing in the 94th minute and then coming from behind again in the penalty shootout.
MORE — Thomas Frank reaction
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero scored Spurs’ goal either side of halftime — both from set pieces — and Thomas Frank’s debut was off to a roaring start. Spurs didn’t have much of the ball (just 26 percent on the night) but they were a constant threat on the counter for about an hour. Meanwhile, PSG had just four shots in the first half, none of which were on target. Pragmatic but practical, and necessary given the current injury situation (again, already).
A few of Spurs’ starters didn’t have the legs to go 90 minutes (Richarlison, Joao Palhinha, Mohammed Kudus), and their replacements (Dominic Solanke, Archie Gray and Mathys Tel) haven’t played much between them this preseason. On the other hand, two of PSG’s subs (Kang-In Lee and Goncalo Ramos) scored the goals, in the 85th and 94th.
Spurs had the lead early in the shootout as well after Vitinha sent his effort wide of the goal, but Van de Ven was denied by Lucas Chevalier and Tel hooked his wide in rounds 3 and 4.
Tottenham Hotspur, the newest Set Piece FC
Frank is at it again, quietly assembling a squad full of big lads that don’t have a problem imposing themselves on opponents. And what do you do with such a group of players? Get ‘em forward, and get it in the mixer. Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero all stand 6-foot-1 or taller, and it became very clear very quickly that Spurs intended to make good use of them on set pieces. Danso will serve as the long-throw specialist and should feature heavily if Frank persists with the three-man backline, which suits the whole trio very well. Set pieces were a hallmark of Brentford when Frank was in charge there, and it is clear after just one (semi-)competitive game at Spurs that normal service has resumed.
The other positive (very closely related) is that Spurs are going to be incredibly annoying to play against this season. They’re going to press a lot, they’re going to go in for lots of hard challenges, and they’re going to score lots of goals from set pieces when you feel they’ve created nothing otherwise. It was truly fantastic that Ange Postecoglou did what he did and won Tottenham Hotspur its first trophy in nearly two decades, but seeing Spurs so defensively organized, resilient and a little nasty right out of the gate just confirms that Daniel Levy was right to make the change.
What’s next?
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Burnley — Saturday, 10 am ET
- Nantes vs PSG — Sunday, 2:45 pm ET
PSG vs Tottenham Hotspur live updates – by Andy Edwards
PSG vs Tottenham Hotspur final score: 2-2 (4-3 PKs)
Goalscorers: Micky van de Ven (39′), Cristian Romero (48′), Kang-In Lee (85′), Goncalo Ramos (90’+4)
PSG vs Spurs penalty shootout
Spurs (3)
Made: Dominic Solanke, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pedro Porro
Missed: Micky van de Ven, Mathys Tel
PSG (4)
Made: Goncalo Ramos, Ousmane Dembele, Kang-In Lee, Nuno Mendes
Missed: Vitinha
PENALTIES! No extra-time, straight to the shootout
A gutting ending for Spurs, who simply couldn’t get enough of the ball to relieve their defense and see the game out.
GOAL! PSG 2-2 Spurs: Ramos darts in at the near post and heads home (90’+4)
GOAL! PSG 1-2 Spurs: Lee smashes into the bottom corner to set up a tight finish (85′)
GOAL! NO! OFFSIDE! Barcola fires home but the offside flag goes up
GOAL! PSG 0-2 Spurs: Romero heads home from another free kick (48′)
GOAL! PSG 0-1 Spurs: Van de Ven cleans up after a free kick goes uncleared (39′)
The new “face” of Tottenham Hotspur, full of intensity and passion like this? He’s got all the talent in the universe and he’s still only 24 years old — if he can just stay healthy.
A back-three for Spurs in Thomas Frank’s first big test?
It looks like Spurs will play with three at the back (Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Kevin Danso) with Pedro Porro and Djed Spence providing width over the full length of the pitch. We didn’t see any three- or five-man setups from Spurs during preseason and the change has been partially forced upon Frank (long-term injuries to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski), but he has clearly decided that the best (and maybe only) place to move the ball forward is out wide. The midfield trio of Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr nods in agreement, begrudgingly. Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus will be tasked with running onto through balls in behind and getting on the end of crosses. Spurs should be quite dangerous when they press, though, with nothing but willing runners and defenders from front to back.
PSG starting lineup
Chevalier – Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes – Vitinha, Zaire-Emery, Doue – Barcola, Kvaratskhelia, Dembele
Tottenham Hotspur starting lineup
Vicario – Danso, Romero, Van de Ven – Porro, Bentancur, Palhinha, Sarr, Spence – Kudus, Richarlison
How to watch PSG vs Tottenham Hotspur live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3 pm ET Wednesday (August 13)
Venue: Stadio Friuli — Udine, Italy
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
PSG team news, focus
PSG have only made two signings so far this summer, but they cost a combined $120 million in transfer fees so you should expect they have acquired some real quality in Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier ($46 million) and center back Illia Zabarnyi ($74 million) from Bournemouth. Chevalier has been brought in just as Champions League hero Gianiluigi Donnarumma looks set to leave the club and likely to land in Manchester. Chevalier is expected to start against Spurs with a virtually unchanged team in front of him.
OUT: Senny Mayulu (thigh)
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
Things are looking far less familiar for Tottenham Hotspur, where there is a new manager (Thomas Frank) a new $74-million man (Mohammed Kudus), and another legend of the club has departed (Son Heung-min). There are also a number of injuries (quite familiar, sadly) making matters more difficult for Frank right out of the starting gate. James Maddison is out for most, if not all, of the season after tearing his ACL in preseason; Dejan Kulusevski is still recovering from his patella (knee) fracture back in May; Dominic Solanke hasn’t appeared in a preseason game since July 19; and the same since July 26 for Destiny Udogie. Who will provide the creativity? It certainly won’t be Yves Bissouma, who was dropped by Frank for being late on a number of occasions this summer, according to the manager.
OUT: James Maddison (torn ACL), Dejan Kulusevski (knee), Dominic Solanke (ankle), Destiny Udogie (hamstring)
PSG vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
PSG are the better side, the more settled side and the more accomplished side. They also don’t have any key injuries to deal with at this point of the season, and they looked sharp at the Club World Cup indicating a strong desire to kick on and win even more this season. PSG 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur.
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