Frank’s ‘special’ Tottenham gameplan not enough to beat PSG

UDINE, Italy — Thomas Frank has described Tottenham’s agonising UEFA Super Cup penalty shootout defeat to Paris Saint-Germain as a “successful operation … but the patient died.”

Spurs were 2-0 up through goals from centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero before PSG pulled one back five minutes from time through substitute Lee Kang-in.

Another substitute, Gonçalo Ramos, equalised in the fourth minute of added-time to force a penalty shootout in which both Van de Ven and Mathys Tel missed to allow Nuno Mendes to convert the winning spot kick as PSG won 4-3.

Tottenham would have become the seventh English club to win the Super Cup but fell short as a hugely impressive display showcasing a new 5-3-2 system unravelled in the final 20 minutes of the game as PSG rallied.

Asked about that change of formation, where £55 million signing Mohammed Kudus played up front alongside Richarlison, Frank said: “I knew we had to do something a little bit different against PSG so it was like a special operation.

“It was in medical terms, the operation succeeded but the patient died. So not that good in the end. But we worked on a gameplan that was a little bit different and we were very close to succeeding.

“I think if you play 2-2 against PSG, I think you take that. That single result is good. Then if you separate we have a penalty shootout, we lost, so maybe we need to work on penalties. Maybe that’s the thing to win a final.

“I think if everyone had said this would be a draw and we would lose on penalties, everyone would think ‘oh, that’s quite impressive.’ And then if you look at the performance and the shift they actually put in, wow. What a mentality throughout the game. So a lot of things to be happy with.”

Spurs begin their Premier League campaign on Saturday with a home game against newly-promoted Burnley while Champions League winners PSG, who can now celebrate their fifth trophy of 2025, start their Ligue 1 season at Nantes a day later.