Tottenham coach Thomas Frank described his team’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup penalty shootout as a “successful operation… but the patient died”.
Tottenham, after an outstanding performance, was surpassed by PSG in an exciting final.
The Spurs went ahead 2-0 with goals from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, but PSG reacted. Lee Kang-in, from the bench, narrowed the gap. Gonçalo Ramos, also a substitute, equalized in added time, forcing the penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, both Van de Ven and Mathys Tel missed their shots, allowing Nuno Mendes to convert the decisive penalty, giving PSG the victory by 4-3.
Tottenham was on the verge of becoming the seventh English club to win the Super Cup, but PSG thwarted their aspirations, despite an impressive display with a new 5-3-2 system that crumbled in the last 20 minutes of the match.
I knew we had to do something a little different against PSG, so it was like a special operation.
Thomas Frank
In medical terms, the operation was successful but the patient died. So it wasn’t so good in the end. But we worked on a game plan that was a little different and we were very close to succeeding.
Thomas Frank
I think if you play 2-2 against PSG, I think you accept that. That single result is good. Then, if we separate, we have a penalty shootout, we lost, so maybe we need to work on penalties. Maybe that’s what it takes to win a final.
Thomas Frank
The Spurs will begin their Premier League campaign on Saturday with a home match against Burnley, while PSG, Champions League champion, who can now celebrate their fifth trophy of 2025, will start their Ligue 1 season in Nantes a day later.I think if everyone had said this would be a draw and we’d lose on penalties, everyone would think ‘oh, that’s pretty impressive’. And then, if you look at the performance and the effort they actually put in, wow. What a mentality throughout the game. So there are many things to be happy about.
Thomas Frank
