Thomas Frank Proud of Spurs Despite ‘Special Operation’ Falling Short Against PSG

Thomas Frank admitted his “special operation” ultimately failed but expressed pride in his Tottenham Hotspur players after they squandered a two-goal lead and lost the Super Cup to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.

First-half goals from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero from set pieces had Spurs within touching distance of silverware, just three months after former head coach Ange Postecoglou secured the Europa League title in May.

However, Champions League winners PSG, who only resumed pre-season training last week following their Club World Cup triumph in July, staged a dramatic late comeback. Substitute Kang-in Lee halved the deficit five minutes from time, before Gonçalo Ramos equalised deep into stoppage time.

In the shoot-out, Tottenham initially held the advantage when Vitinha missed PSG’s opening penalty and Rodrigo Bentancur converted to make it 2-0. But misses from Van de Ven and Mathys Tel saw Frank’s competitive debut end in a 4-3 defeat on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time.

The Danish manager praised his players for executing his tactical plan, deploying a back-three system that caused PSG persistent problems from set pieces.

“Very, very proud of the players, the team, the club, the fans,” Frank said. “The players gave everything against one of the best teams in the world, maybe the best at the moment. For 75 to 80 minutes, we were perfect – almost giving nothing away.

I knew we had to do something different against PSG. It was a special operation. In medical terms, the operation succeeded, but the patient died – so not that good in the end. But the game plan was very close to succeeding. We went a little more direct at times because we knew we could hurt them there, and we placed a big focus on set pieces from all areas of the pitch. That focus will remain no matter what.”

Van de Ven’s opener had been the reward for a disciplined, energetic first-half performance, while Romero’s header from Pedro Porro’s free-kick shortly after the restart sent the Spurs supporters into raptures.

Tottenham continued to defend resolutely until PSG manager Luis Enrique introduced a flurry of substitutes, which ultimately shifted the momentum.

Frank vowed to lift spirits quickly ahead of Saturday’s Premier League opener at home to Burnley.

“Every game matters,” he said. “We are hugely disappointed – and I allow myself 24 hours to feel that way. If we want to compete in several competitions, we must be ready to turn things around quickly. I’ll make sure the players are ready to come flying out on Saturday.”

Luis Enrique conceded PSG had been fortunate to emerge victorious, given their lack of preparation.

“To be honest, I’m not sure we deserved this trophy,” he admitted. “The difference was stark. Tottenham have had six weeks of preparation, we’ve had six days. We tried to play our football but couldn’t for the first 80 minutes – too many poor passes. Maybe we were lucky. Lady Luck was smiling on us.”