Cliff Notes – PSG 5-3 Tottenham: Thomas Frank’s side show promise in Paris goal-fest
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Tottenham displayed attacking flair under Thomas Frank, leading twice against PSG in a thrilling 5-3 encounter, despite ultimately falling short once again.
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Randal Kolo Muani shone for Spurs, scoring two goals and providing an assist, showcasing his potential after a challenging spell at PSG.
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Vitinha’s hat trick for PSG highlighted his quality, with his goals demonstrating both technical skill and composure under pressure, contributing significantly to the victory.
PSG 5-3 Tottenham: Thomas Frank’s side show promise in Paris goal-fest
PARIS — Well, you certainly can’t say Tottenham were negative in this one.
After three days of criticism aimed directly at his five-at-the-back system used in the north London derby, Thomas Frank had needed to satisfy Spurs fans’ demand for attacking intent and n a chilly night in the French capital, his much-changed team delivered a 5-3 slugfest of the sort that Spurs supporters have always loved to see from their team.
It seems, though, that no matter how encouragingly Spurs can play against Paris Saint-Germain, they will always fall short in the end. It was the case in the UEFA Super Cup in August when Spurs contrived to lose despite having a two-goal lead with five minutes of normal time remaining and it was so again on Wednesday.
They twice led the Champions League holders and put real fear into “Les Parisiens” who came to the Parc des Princes expecting to see nothing short of an emphatic victory over their out-of-form Premier League visitors.
Eight goals — almost all of which were technically scored by PSG players — did give them the win they craved, but the madcap nature of the contest meant that Lucas Hernández’s late red card and the return for a Ballon d’Or winner ended up as a footnote on a night that left everyone wanting more.
Kolo Muani turns it on against parent clubRandal Kolo Muani was a standout for Tottenham FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images
If the paltry total of eight Ligue 1 goals Randal Kolo Muani managed for PSG after their €90 million ($104m) outlay on him in 2023 leaves a bad taste in the French capital, the fact he scored almost a quarter of that total in one match against them — while still technically their own player — must really smart.
Born in the nearby Paris suburb of Bondy, the same area where Kylian Mbappé was raised, Kolo Muani was billed as another local boy done good.
However, after an underwhelming spell at Juventus and a second loan at Spurs, he has been all but forgotten at the Parc des Princes.
But he more than made his mark in this one, putting Spurs in front with a powerful volley that Marquinhos could not stop and then an eye-catching finish that gave Spurs an ultimately doomed hope of a light fightback.He also grabbed an assist for Richarlison’s opener.
Perhaps he may have finally found a home in north London.
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Vitinha shines in wild matchVitinha’s hat trick helped PSG collect all three points. Franco Arland – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Spurs can’t claim to not have been warned about his first — they saw flyers from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Fabián Ruiz whistle narrowly wide of Guglielmo Vicario’s goal in the first half.
But while they showed urgency in getting out to Vitinha as the ball rolled across the edge of their box, it’s hard to criticise defenders when a goal of such obvious quality is unleashed.
It is rare to see a strike so effective from a pass that has to run across a player’s body before they can meet it with their laces.
To produce what he did, the Portugal midfielder paused for a moment before almost stabbing his right foot through the centre of the ball, turning it into a glowing white orb that sailed through the Paris night and in off the crossbar in a way that all the best goals do.
Vitinha’s second, three minutes after Kolo Muani had seen Spurs retake the lead, showed the other side of his game. Three touches with the right foot to manipulate the ball into the perfect position and one with his left to deliver the telling blow.
While the third was the result of a true classic of the Champions League handball genre, Vitinha deserved his headlines and made sure of getting them by cooly sending Vicario the wrong way from the spot.
Frank’s tactical twist brings fresh lifeThomas Frank’s adjustments showed promising signs. Franco Arland – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
After the weekend’s humiliation, the pressure was on for Frank to show he would not be cowed when facing one of the so-called ‘bigger teams.’ And here in the City of Light the Dane picked an experimental XI that went some way to greasing the gears that had threatened to grind Spurs’ season to a halt.
Forgoing the opportunity to stick to his guns in the way his predecessor would surely have done, Frank selected the youthful exuberance of Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Pape Matar Sarr to support Rodrigo Bentancur in the centre of the pitch. In effect, he resisted picking all of his centre-backs in favour of picking nearly all of his central midfielders.
The combination of Bergvall and Gray in particular is one in which the club have invested a great deal of faith but received scant rewards to date. Neither played a major role in their UEFA Europa League triumph in May.
But here against the real champions of Europe, the Spurs duo pounded the turf around PSG’s vaunted midfield axis of Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz in the first half, winning the duels that Frank had pointed to in his dissection of the Arsenal defeat.
And in possession, it was Bergvall’s drag and flick around the corner that freed up Gray to loft the cross that led to Richarlison’s opener.
Like a martial arts expert using their opponent’s weight against them, the PSG trio eventually got the better of their younger Spurs counterparts, but against lower quality opposition, Frank could have stumbled upon the answer to his midfield troubles.
Key stats:
Richarlison’s 3-game scoring streak in all competitions is his longest since Dec. 2023 (also three with Spurs). He is 1 game shy of tying the longest scoring streak of his career (four straight games, done twice in 2015 and 2021).