Luis Enrique: “PSG didn’t deserve the Super Cup”, Tottenham close to victory

PSG Wins UEFA Super Cup in an Epic Duel Against Tottenham

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said his team “didn’t deserve” the victory in the UEFA Super Cup, despite achieving a dramatic comeback to beat Tottenham Hotspur in a penalty shootout on Wednesday. Nuno Mendes converted the decisive penalty, completing a PSG comeback that seemed improbable when Tottenham led 2-0 in the 85th minute of regulation time. The annual match pitted the recent Champions League and Europa League champions against each other. Luis Enrique highlighted the difference in physical preparation between both teams, as PSG had just resumed training after their participation in the Club World Cup final last month.

• Lee Kang-in boosted PSG by narrowing the gap.
• Gonçalo Ramos scored the equalizing goal in added time.

The PSG coach commented: “For 80 minutes we didn’t deserve this. I think Tottenham deserved to win the match because they were in shape, training for six weeks, and they played a great game. We’ve only been training for six days, but sometimes football is unfair. I must say that we were very lucky in the last 10 minutes to be able to score two goals.” Lee Kang-in, with a powerful shot, reduced PSG’s disadvantage. Gonçalo Ramos managed to equalize in the fourth minute of added time, establishing a 2-2 at the Stadio Friuli in Udine.

Even after this, Tottenham seemed close to victory by leading 2-0 in the penalty shootout, after Vitinha missed for PSG. However, Micky van de Ven and Mathys Tel missed their penalties for the Spurs, while PSG scored four consecutive penalties, the last of them converted by Mendes.

“My players had faith until the last minute, like our fans,” said Luis Enrique.

Luis Enrique

The match was a notable debut for Lucas Chevalier, the newly arrived goalkeeper from Lille, who replaced Gianluigi Donnarumma, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, as PSG’s starter. Chevalier was unfortunate to concede Tottenham’s first goal in the 39th minute, after deflecting a Joao Palhinha shot onto the crossbar, but Van de Ven took advantage of the rebound. He was also responsible for the second goal, failing to stop a header from Cristian Romero. Chevalier finished the match by stopping a penalty from Van de Ven in the shootout, a tiebreaker in which Donnarumma often excels. The Italian could have been watching the match from home, after not traveling to Italy before announcing his departure from PSG.

“He shows a great personality, something very important if you want to stay at a club like PSG, because there is a lot of pressure around us. I am very happy for him because he shows a lot of personality,” Enrique commented.

Luis Enrique

PSG midfielder Vitinha added: “This is really the definition of a team, because when someone fails, you have to help your teammate get up and we still win. It’s really incredible, because another day someone will fail and someone will step up.”