Tottenham boss Thomas Frank praised his players after Paris Saint-Germain defeat in the UEFA Super Cup
Some of the feel-good factor around Tottenham Hotspur at the start of the Thomas Frank era evaporated when they were smashed 4-0 by Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in a pre-season friendly last week. The game exposed plenty of Spurs’ weaknesses, and the Danish tactician confessed the defeat was majorly down to “bad combination”.
It was simply not the ideal preparation for the North London side heading into the UEFA Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine on Wednesday. However, to everyone’s surprise, Tottenham turned in a fantastic performance vs Paris Saint-Germain on the night.
Thomas Frank’s side put in a strong display, even if goals from defenders Micky Van de Ven and Cristian Romero were not enough to eventually win the European trophy. Kang-in Lee and Goncalo Ramos came off the bench and found the back of the net for PSG late on to force the game into penalty shootout, which Spurs lost 4-3.
Thomas Frank lauds his players vs PSG
In the penalty shoot-out, Tottenham again held a two-goal lead when Vitinha missed his opening spot-kick. However, misses from Van de Ven and Mathys Tel opened the door for the French side to win their first-ever Super Cup title- just 12 weeks after lifting their maiden UEFA Champions League trophy.
However, Frank saw plenty of promise in the manner in which his players dominated their star-studded opponents for the best part of an hour. When asked how proud he is of his players for carrying out the game plan for 80-85 minutes albeit a penalty shootout defeat, the Dane stated in his post-match press conference (h/t Football London):
“I absolutely agree, very, very proud of the players, the team, the club, the fans. I think the players gave everything, playing against one of the best team in the world, maybe the best, at the moment, and I think we were 75, 80 minutes perfect, almost giving nothing away against, they had four players with unbelievable individual quality on the pitch. So very, very proud of them.”
Great base for Spurs to build on against opening game against Burnley
Realistically, not a single fan saw this Tottenham performance coming. There were ominous signs heading into the Super Cup clash after the bruising and battering Bayern had provided to Frank’s side in Germany. So, the performance, tactical plan and energy came as a pleasant surprise to the travelling contingent and our supporters all across the globe.
Indeed, it was a display that has been rightly lauded by the Danish tactician. He deserves credit for coming up with a great tactical plan to stifle PSG and almost executing it, but there were so many positives to take for our gaffer amidst the defeat heading into the opening game of the new season against Burnley on Saturday.