Paris Saint-Germain produced a dramatic late rally before beating Tottenham in a penalty shootout to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, securing a fifth trophy of 2025 for the French club.
Dramatic Comeback
Nuno Mendes converted the clinching spot kick in the shootout to complete a PSG comeback that looked unlikely when Tottenham held a 2-0 lead in the 85th minute of regulation at Stadio Friuli in Udine.
Lee Kang-in gave PSG hope by reducing the deficit with a fierce shot into the bottom corner. Fellow substitute Gonçalo Ramos grabbed an equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time to make it 2-2.
Even then, Tottenham moved into position to pull off an upset by taking a 2-0 lead in the shootout after Vitinha's first-up miss for PSG. However, Micky van de Ven and Mathys Tel failed from the spot for Spurs, and PSG scored four penalties in a row, with Mendes slamming home the final kick.
Luis Enrique's Reaction
"Sometimes football is unfair," PSG coach Luis Enrique said. "I have to say we were very lucky in the last 10 minutes that we could score two goals."
PSG won the Champions League-Ligue 1-Coupe de France treble last season, along with the Trophee des Champions in January. The only blip came in last month's defeat to Chelsea in the final of the Club World Cup.
Luis Enrique said PSG's players had only been back in training for six days and took time to get into their stride.
"My players had faith until the last minute, like our supporters," he said.
Chevalier's Debut
It was quite the debut for Lucas Chevalier, a goalkeeper who has just joined from Lille and taken over as first choice at PSG from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Chevalier was unlucky in conceding Tottenham's opening goal in the 39th, tipping Joao Palhinha's shot onto the crossbar only for Van de Ven to show quick reactions and prod home. He was blamed for the second after failing to keep out a header from newly appointed Tottenham captain Cristian Romero in the 48th.
He finished the evening by saving a penalty by Van de Ven in the shootout. The Italian might have been watching from home, having not traveled to Italy on Tuesday before announcing he'd be leaving PSG.
"I'm very happy for him because he showed a lot of personality," Luis Enrique said of Chevalier.
Thomas Frank's First Match
Thomas Frank was taking charge of his first competitive match at Tottenham after replacing the fired Ange Postecoglou, who led the team to its first trophy in 17 years with victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final in May.
The former Brentford manager almost had a trophy to take home, with Tottenham initially outsmarting PSG and showing clearly it is further along in its preparations for the new campaign compared to PSG.
"The single result, 2-2, is good," Frank said. "If you look into the performance, the shift the players put in ... wow, what a mentality.
"There are lots of things to be happy with. That needs to be the foundation going forward."