Tottenham‘s unbeaten Champions League run came to a dramatic end at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night against PSG, but there were positives to take from the thrilling encounter.
The European champions were rocked by Thomas Frank‘s plucky Spurs side, who gave Luis Enrique a real nightmare, with PSG mounting two separate comebacks to secure a pulsating 5-3 victory.
Midfielder Vitinha claimed a memorable hat-trick, with PSG having to rely on moments of sheer quality just to overcome the north Londoners in France.
Frank’s men stunned the home side by taking a deserved lead on 35 minutes through Richarlison, who headed home from close range after brilliant build-up play involving youngsters Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. The Brazilian’s opener looked set to give Spurs a halftime advantage, but Vitinha crashed in a spectacular 25-yard equaliser via the crossbar just before the break.
PSG 5-3 Tottenham – best performers | Match Rating |
|---|---|
Randal Kolo Muani | 8.7 |
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | 8.4 |
Vitinha | 8.4 |
Willian Pacho | 8.1 |
Joao Neves | 8.0 |
via WhoScored | |
Tottenham regained their lead five minutes into the second period when Randal Kolo Muani fired home against his parent club, converting the rebound after Gray’s effort was cleared off the line. However, PSG responded immediately with a devastating 13-minute blitz that turned the contest decisively in their favour.
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Vitinha curled home his second goal after being afforded excessive space to cut inside, before Fabian Ruiz completed the turnaround six minutes later following a costly turnover from Pape Matar Sarr outside his own penalty area. William Pacho then extended PSG’s advantage to 4-2 after Tottenham failed to clear Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s corner adequately.
Kolo Muani bundled his way through to drill home his second goal with 18 minutes remaining, briefly offering Spurs hope of salvaging something from the match. Those aspirations were dampened moments later, when Cristian Romero’s handball gifted PSG a penalty, which Vitinha confidently converted to complete his hat-trick and seal all three points.
The loss was Tottenham’s first in nine Champions League matches and leaves them sitting 15th in the league phase standings. Despite showing attacking intent and twice taking the lead, Frank’s young side were ultimately undone by defensive lapses during crucial moments in the second half.
Kolo Muani’s man of the match display against PSG, a club he’s still under contract with, gave Spurs major hope that they could have the answer to their striking problems after all.
The Frenchman, who’s suffered repeated injury setbacks since joining on loan, bagged his first goals for the Lilywhites and proved a real mence against one of the continent’s top sides.
However, Kolo Muani wasn’t Tottenham’s only bright spark on the night.
Thomas Frank praises “very impressive” Archie Gray in Tottenham loss to PSG
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Frank reserved special praise for Gray, who linked up with Bergvall for Spurs’ opening goal of the contest and provided real energy in midfield.
“Very impressive. Two young players, I said from the beginning, I believe a lot in,” Frank told reporters about Gray and Bergvall.
“Archie was there ready before Monaco and then unfortunately picked up the calf injury. So, we’ve been waiting for him to be ready again. Today he showed a lot. The way the two of them set up the first goal was also joyful to watch. The mobility, technical, ball handling, mentality and character — we liked it.”
The 19-year-old has spent most of this season out with a calf injury so far, and before that, found it hard to get consistent first-team minutes with Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Sarr and Bergvall all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Much like last season, Gray responded with a solid performance when called upon last night, and it could be time for the Englishman to earn Frank’s starting nod much more often.
The former Leeds United sensation was given a baptism of fire under Ange Postecoglou last season when asked to play multiple unfamiliar roles during Spurs’ 24/25 injury crisis, and he’s done arguably done enough to earn the club’s favour.
With the 2026 World Cup just round the corner, Gray will be hoping that he can potentially stake his claim in Thomas Tuchel’s squad, but he’ll need Frank’s faith with more game time.
