Key events
Half-time postbag. “As a Spurs supporter, I genuinely went into this match with rather low expectations. Avoid getting thumped, make it difficult and stodgy and maybe win with a scrappy goal like we did the Europa League final, especially since Son has left, Maddison is injured, and so is Kulusevski. I figured we’d be completely toothless. Such was my surprise when not only are we ahead at half-time, but we’ve been the better team! Thomas Frank’s magic at work already, perhaps?” – Alexandra Ashton
“As a Spurs fan, I came into this game nervous after our slaying by Bayern Munich. I felt we won the Europa League on the back of a nervous performance that was far from convincing. When Maddison got injured, it seemed we were back to where we finished the season. The last 45 minutes, however, have been our most competent performance in a long time, with Danso and Kudos particularly impressive” – Matthew Carpenter-Arevalo
“As a Chelsea fan, I’m worried that if Spurs beat PSG by more than three goals, they will take the mantle as the best club team in the world” – Julian Menz
“It may sound like a preposterous proposition, but Spurs should try to sign PSG’s number 14. To Dare is to Doue!” – Peter Oh
HALF TIME: Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are currently doing a Chelseaesque number on the European champions.
45 min: Spence has a whack from distance. The shot’s blocked and loops to Danso, who heads across from the left. Richarlison wins an aerial challenge with Pacho on the penalty spot. The ball’s helped on by Kudus, and off the right-hand upright! Richarlison can’t ram home the rebound. Wow. Spurs so close to a two-goal lead, and it wouldn’t have flattered them either. PSG 0-1 Spurs.
44 min: Kudus gets the better of Pacho down the right, only to wang a wild cross over everyone’s head. PSG were light at the back there. PSG 0-1 Spurs.
43 min: PSG try to respond immediately, Barcola winning a corner down the left. From that set piece, the ball’s worked back to Doue, who shoots from the edge of the box. That’s deflected out to the right for another corner … and nothing comes of that one, Dembele dribbling down a nowhere road and out for a goal kick. Vicario still hasn’t had a save to make. PSG 0-1 Spurs.
41 min: Van de Ven did his bit to win the Europa League with a high-kicking clearance off the line in the final. Now he’s made his mark in a European showpiece at the other end. “We know what we are, champions of Europe!” trill the Spurs fans, using watertight playground / pool-table-winner-stays-on logic. PSG 0-1 Spurs.
GOAL! Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (Van de Ven 39)
Kudus tussles with Hakimi on the halfway line and wins a free kick. Vicario launches it forward. PSG fail to deal with it. Bentancur heads it across the face of goal from the left. Van de Ven somehow bundles the ball into the road of Paulinho, who sends a rising shot towards the top-left corner. It takes a deflection, and Chevalier tips it onto the bar. A wonder save … but the ball drops back to Van de Ven, who can’t miss from six yards. Nothing more than Spurs deserve!
38 min: PSG keep Spurs pinned back for the first time this evening. But they’ve yet to muster a shot on target. Vicario has had next to nothing to do. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
36 min: Kvaratskhelia drives down the right again. His cutback is only half cleared by Romero, and the ball finds Dembele on the penalty spot. Dembele leans back and hoicks over. PSG slowly growing into this at last. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
34 min: Kvaratskhelia slips Doue into space down the right. Doue whistles a low cross into the Spurs six-yard box, but there’s only Vicario in it. The keeper smothers. Not sure where Dembele and Barcola were. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
32 min: Spence steals the ball off Hakimi and once again it’s close but no cigar with a run down the left. He’s been a constant danger. But PSG are uncertain, and Spurs come again. Marquinhos fails to deal with Porro’s cross from the right. He slaps the ball straight to Kudus, whose first-time drive is blocked by … Marquinhos, making up for his error. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
31 min: The pace drops. So much for the restorative and reinvigorating power of MID-HALF BEVVY™. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
29 min: PSG finally show in attack. Dembele spins on the halfway line and whips a pass down the left for Barcola, who gets the better of Porro to reach the byline, but has his cutback blocked out for a corner by Sarr. Nothing comes of the resulting set piece – Vitinha overhits it woefully – but that’s much better from the European champions. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
27 min: Another long Danso throw from the right. The super-lanky Van de Ven competes for it, but Marquinhos times his clearance well. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
26 min: Suitably refreshed, everyone starts running around again. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
25 min: It’s hot in Italy – 27 degrees centigrade – and so everyone stops for drinks. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
24 min: From the resulting corner, Bentancur clanks the ball way off target and out for a goal kick. Spurs have been the better side so far. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
23 min: Kudus is buzzing around dangerously, and now he sends Richarlison striding down the inside-right channel. Richarlison takes a shot early from distance. It takes a little nick off Pacho and Chevalier makes the first Donnarummaesque save of his PSG career by tipping a ball that’s heading towards the top right over the bar. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
22 min: Spurs have been pressing PSG hard, having taken notes from Chelsea in the Club World Cup final. Kudus takes it a little bit too far, nudging Vitinha to the floor with a late challenge. The referee has word, nothing more. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
21 min: Van de Ven strides down the left before nearly releasing Spence with a cute slide-rule pass inside Hakimi. There’s not quite enough juice on the ball, and the defender is able to hold his line, polo style, and recover. Nice idea though. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
19 min: Tottenham’s early energy is unsettling PSG. Sarr advances down the left and is upended by Doue. The resulting free kick is swung in from the flank and headed harmlessly over the bar by Romero. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
17 min: PSG attempt to play out from the back. Richarlison, Sarr and Kudus press them, and press hard. Kudus eventually closes down Mendes, but the ball ricochets back out for a goal kick. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
16 min: It’s PSG 0-0 Spurs.
14 min: Kvaratskhelia has a wee look down the right. Bentancur robs him and sends Richarlison away on the counter, but again there’s nobody up in support so the move breaks down. But that’s another promising moment for Tottenham. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
12 min: Kudus steals the ball of Mendes and makes good down the right. He curls long for Richarlison, who has no right to keep an overhit cross in play, but does so elegantly, with an extended leg. But then he spoils all of his good work by ballooning a cross of his own miles behind. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
11 min: Richarlison gets the better of Marquinhos down the left, but can’t cut the ball back before he runs it out for a goal kick. Plus there was nobody else in lilywhite who had kept up with play, so it’s immaterial anyway. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
10 min: Barcola twists down the left, confusing both Danso and Palhinha with one deft drop of the shoulder. The Spurs pair clatter into each other, and Palhinha stays down for a worrying few seconds. But then he springs back up. All good. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
8 min: Zaïre-Emery probes down the right, but Romero isn’t letting him past. Barcola and Zaïre-Emery then combine down the other flank, their quickfire passing teeing up Kvaratskhelia on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Kvaratskhelia spins and whistles a shot well wide left. Nice move, though. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
6 min: Danso competes for the long-hit free kick on the edge of the Parisian box, but can’t get the ball under control. Thomas Frank will be happy enough with his side’s start. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
5 min: Porro attempts to steer the ball up the right flank for Richarlison, and is clattered by Mendes. Later in the game, the referee might have considered pulling a yellow for that one, but it’s just a free kick on the halfway line. Vicario to pump it forward. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
3 min: Richarlison probes down the right to no great effect. But the Europa League winners have started on the front foot. Danso then launches a long throw in from the right. Some mild bedlam in the PSG box before the ball’s hacked clear. Richarlison claims a penalty for handball, but he’s just trying it on. PSG 0-0 Spurs.
2 min: Eagle-eyed readers will already have noticed the lack of automated scoreline at the top of this MBM, as well as the usual line-up and stats bumf. This being the case, and for the benefit of any late arrivals, each entry will also carry a reminder of the latest score. ☞☞☞PSG 0-0 Spurs☜☜☜ See? We’re here to serve.
34 seconds. Porro has a dig from distance, looking for the top-right corner in an ambitious fashion. Always high, always wide, and Chevalier had it covered anyway. No early shock for the new boy.
Spurs get the ball rolling. Both sets of fans giving it plenty at the Stadio Friuli in Udine. Everyone up for this. Let’s go!
The teams are out! Marquinhos leads out PSG with the European Cup in his arms. Cristian Romero heads the line for Spurs carrying the Europa League trophy. Both teams are in their first-choice garb: PSG in blue and red, Spurs in lilywhite. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
Pre-match postbag. “The stereotype of the Brazilian player is a hyper-skilled player who uses incredible dazzling talents to leave defenders grasping at air as they are left in the dust. As an Everton die-hard I loved Richarlison because he was so physical, such a bull, more English than Brazilian. The times he saved Everton from relegation with brutish, bloody-minded animal ferocity will always be loved by many Everton diehards” – Mary Waltz
“It’s too bad that Spurs’ Italian left back is injured, because the headline ‘Destiny Udogie upholds Udine destiny’ would have written itself. Udogie was born in nearby Verona” – Peter Oh
“With PSG playing Spurs tonight, that’s three London teams they’ll have played since May in three different competitions” – Conor Blennerhassett (whose granny may or may not have run the Penrith tea rooms in Withnail & I, we’ll have to ask him)
Pennant watch. As ever, PSG’s offering is a gloriously free-form affair. Perhaps the jazziest thing to come out of Paris since the hot days of Stéphane and Django.
Tottenham’s earnest effort is a tad dull by comparison. Not totally dissimilar to the pennants foisted on England’s women’s and men’s teams, but the class of the raised lettering ensures it doesn’t plumb the FA’s will-this-do depths.
Harbinger Of Doom Corner. Two photos posted without comment.
A reminder of how these teams earned the right to compete for the 2025 Super Cup. Fans of Manchester United and Internazionale look away now.
Thomas Frank talks to TNT Sports, and is first asked to wax lyrical over the new Tottenham captain Cristian Romero. “He is a leader … a very experienced player … we are going into a final, and he has been in a few finals, and been very successful … he knows what it is about … on and off the pitch he will lead the team … we are facing a very good team but we are confident in ourselves … it is one game and we see an opportunity … we want to be brave, aggressive and go forward … there needs to be a foundation … solidness … togetherness … very difficult to beat … that’s the minimum criteria and then we go from that … I just showed a picture to the players, that they are winners … they proved it three months ago … they won a very important trophy … of course they can do it today … go out and enjoy it.”
There are three changes to the PSG side that started the Champions League final. Gianluigi Donnarumma is halfway through the out door, and is replaced in goal by Lucas Chevalier, the new signing from Lille. Meanwhile Warren Zaïre-Emery and Bradley Barcola come in for João Neves and Fabián Ruiz, with only the latter on the bench tonight.
Thomas Frank takes charge of Tottenham for the first time in a proper fixture tonight, and gives two players their competitive debut. João Palhinha, on loan from Bayern Munich, starts in midfield, while Mohammed Kudus, the £55m signing from West Ham, plays up front. Europa League final match-winner Brennan Johnson starts on the bench.
The teams
Paris Saint-Germain: Chevalier, Marquinhos, Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Pacho, Vitinha, Doué, Zaïre-Emery, Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia, Barcola.
Subs: Safonov, Marin, Hernandez, Lucas Beraldo, Kamara, Fabian, Lee, Goncalo Ramos, Mbaye.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Romero, Danso, Porro, van de Ven, Bentancur, João Palhinha, Sarr, Richarlison, Spence, Kudus.
Subs: Austin, Kinský, Davies, Vušković, Byfield, Gray, Bergvall, Solanke, Johnson, Tel, Odobert.
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
VAR: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
Preamble
The sashaying, swaggering, record-breaking champions of Europe take on the winners of last year’s distinctly underwhelming Europa League final. That being the case, Paris-Saint Germain, the first side to win a European Cup / Champions League final by five clear goals, are hot favourites in Udine tonight to swat aside a seriously-below-par Tottenham Hotspur who just about got the better of a Manchester United selection plumbing depths adjacent to rock-bottom.
But! However! And yet! PSG might have seen off Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal en route to Champions League glory last season, but they didn’t have it all their own way against the English, and had their shorts freshly laundered, neatly pressed and handed back to them in the Club World Cup final by Chelsea. That will give them pause. Meanwhile nobody ever made good money predicting which Spurs would turn up on any given day, and while they’re coming off the back of a 4-0 humbling by Bayern Munich, they’ve also recently beaten their arch-rivals Arsenal. So pooh-pooh the scattergun irrelevance of pre-season if you must, but this is technically pre-season too, so good luck calling it.
PSG are looking to add a first Super Cup to their fast-expanding resumé. They’ve only contested it once before, in 1996, and will hope to do significantly better this time round, having lost that two-legged tie 9-2 on aggregate to Juventus. Spurs meanwhile are in their very first Super Cup; their previous European wins during the competition’s existence, the Uefa Cups of 1972 and 1984, came during a period where the holders of the Cup Winners’ Cup got to play instead. So we’re breaking new ground tonight one way or the other.
Crystal Palace have just proved that trophies are like proverbial London buses: you wait long enough for one, then another arrives swiftly after. Can Spurs, who slaked their 41-year European thirst just three months ago, do the same? Kick-off at the home of Udinese Calcio is at 8pm UK time, 9pm in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It’s on!
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