Paris Saint-Germain clinched the Super Cup in dramatic fashion at the Stadio Friuli, defeating Tottenham Hotspur on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw in regular time.
It was Nuno Mendes’ thumping spot-kick that secured the trophy for the Parisians following a spirited late comeback.
Thomas Frank and his side will leave heartbroken and stunned, having held a 2-0 lead with just five minutes of normal time remaining. However, PSG’s relentless attitude kept them alive. Two quick goals from substitutes Kang-In Lee and Goncalo Ramos sent the match to a shoot-out.
Spurs began the penalty shootout strongly, with Dominic Solanke converting and Vitinha missing for PSG. But the tide turned when Micky Van de Ven and Mathys Tel failed to convert their penalties. Nuno Mendes then stepped up and fired home the decisive strike, sparking jubilant scenes for Luis Enrique’s side.
It was a dominant start from Tottenham. Frank’s pragmatic approach had them looking tactically solid from the outset while posing a consistent threat on the counter attack.
Their opening goal came courtesy of van de Ven. A long ball from Vicario was flicked on by Cristian Romero, finding Joao Palhinha, whose effort was parried onto the bar by Lucas Chevalier. The rebound fell kindly for Van de Ven, who slotted home calmly.
Spurs nearly doubled their lead just before the break, with new signing Mohammed Kudus glancing a diving header against the post.
The second half continued in the same vein, with Tottenham remaining disciplined at the back while breaking forward with menace. Their second goal came through captain Cristian Romero, who powered home a back post header past Chevalier, sending the travelling Spurs fans into raptures.
Tottenham then chose to sit deep and protect their lead, while PSG pushed forward in search of a lifeline. Bradley Barcola was a constant threat down the left and thought he had pulled one back in the 65th minute, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Despite Spurs’ initial resilience, PSG finally found a breakthrough in the 85th minute. Kang-In Lee, introduced from the bench, fired a low drive into the bottom corner to reignite the contest. Moments later, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Ousmane Dembele delivered a perfect cross for Goncalo Ramos, who powered home the equaliser to send the match to penalties.
There are plenty of positives for Frank to take from this performance, particularly the tactical discipline and attacking fluency on show. However, the nature of the defeat, conceding twice in the final minutes and losing on penalties, will make it a bitter pill to swallow.
If Frank had had the signings in that he should have had we’d have seen the game out. The lack of quality in the squad showed when we had to make substitutions. Palhinha for Gray is a massive drop in quality, Gray’s still young and too lightweight for me to play there. And Tel coming on for Kudus another massive drop in quality. In fact for me, I’m lost in trying to find the reason we actually signed Tel on a permanent deal for £40m. I really don’t know what he did to warrant the move. For me, I wouldn’t have paid more than £10m for him, If I had to sign him at all. Also tonight just pointed out the lack of quality we have on the left wing and in the middle striker position. Richarlison has to go, and Solanke even when fit, runs a lot, but he’s not good enough for Spurs I’m afraid. Levy has an awful lot of work to do still, but I don’t hold much hope that he will come good, he always leaves the squad short somewhere, which has held the team back, Levy has to take the blame for the lack of quality in the squad.