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PSG defeated Tottenham Hotspur on Matchday 5 of the Champions League (5-3) courtesy of Vitinha’s first hat-trick for Les Parisiens.

Defensive mistakes an area of concern

Much of the onus on the Champions League winners focused on their ability to break teams open in the context of endless injuries sustained by their key performers up front, such as Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué. But the defensive side should very much be an area of concern for Luis Enrique.

Costly lapses of concentration were already on show last time out against Bayern Munich with Luis Diaz just breezing past Marquinhos. The Brazilian centre-back’s awareness was questionable again in allowing his fellow countryman Richarlison heading home from close range. But Richarlison’s opener also stood out due to Nuno Mendes’ poor positioning and the easiness with which Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray bypassed Willian Pacho.

The Spurs also opened the scoring with their first shot on target, which surely won’t do any good to Lucas Chevalier’s confidence. The France international had a moment of madness in the second half, wandering in no man’s land from a corner kick which ultimately allowed Randal Kolo Muani to score against his parent club.

Randal Kolo Muani shines against his parent club

The former Nantes centre-forward’s PSG spell was so dull, with a meagre tally of 11 goals in 18 months, that you’d be forgiven if you forgot the France international was still a PSG player in the first place, and under contract until 2028. Kolo Muani made sure Parc des Princes remembered him with an industrious shift.

The 26-year-old cleverly put it on a plate for Richarlison’s opener before powering home his first goal for Spurs with a powerful strike to restore’s the Premier League side’s lead. The France international even halved the deficit after taking advantage of a rare mistake from Vitinha. Two goals and one assist is the kind of output Kolo Muani never produced for PSG, but he did just that at Parc des Princes.

Vitinha magic further highlights PSG strikers’ dip in form

PSG head coach Luis Enrique rose eyebrows again with his team selection with the inclusion of 18-year-old Academy prospect Quentin Ndjantou, which speaks volumes of the status of Gonçalo Ramos’ status within the squad. For long spells in the second half, PSG lacked the incisiveness to carve open Tottenham’s deep block with Bradley Barcola again fading under the Champions League floodlights.

Then, Vitinha happened. With two strokes of uncut magic, the Portuguese maestro restored parity twice when PSG needed the most, just before half-time and right after Kolo Muani’s first goal. The captain completed a hat-trick from the penalty spot, stepping up to make amends after allowing Tottenham a way back into the game. No PSG player had had more goal contributions this season than the former Wolves midfielder.

Tottenham Hotspur pay a visit to Champions League winners PSG for Matchday 5 of Europe’s premier club competition tonight at Paris’ Parc des Princes. Thomas Frank’s Spurs may take their revenge against Les Parisiens after last summer’s UEFA Super Cup, which PSG won on penalties after overcoming a 2-0 deficit.

For tonight’s game, Frank is set to rely on two players who have previous with the Ligue 1 champions. France international Randal Kolo Muani is expected to lead the line, despite the latter being a PSG loanee. The former Nantes centre-forward was frozen out by Luis Enrique last season and was allowed to spend the second half of the previous campaign on loan at Juventus.

Former PSG attacking midfielder is also poised to starts as a No. 10 with Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus on the wings.

Tottenham Hotpsur likely line-up v PSG

Guglielmo Vicario; Destiny Udogie, Micky Van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro; Rodrigo Bentancur, Palhinha; Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons, Mohammed Kudus; Randal Kolo Muani. (L’Éq)

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

Ousmane Dembélé (28) suffered a calf injury against Bayern Munich earlier this month, however, according to a report from RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins, the Ballon d’Or winner could make his return to action against Tottenham Hotspur next week.

Dembélé won the Ballon d’Or in September, however, it has been an injury-hit campaign for the Paris Saint-Germain forward, who notably suffered a severe hamstring injury while on France duty in September.

His training and minutes have since been meticulously managed, but he then suffered a separate injury in the first half of PSG’s UCL defeat to Bayern Munich. That injury meant that he missed out on Les Bleus’ games against Ukraine and Azerbaijan during the international break.

However, his return is now imminent. Hakwins understands that, depending on how training goes on Friday, he could even be involved against Le Havre AC on Saturday. But no risks will be taken by the medical staff, and a return against Tottenham on Wednesday is a more likely scenario.

A place in Didier Deschamps’ France squad is hard to come by. There is great competition for places, due to Deschamps’ desire to “oxygenise”, essentially blood in the new generation, whilst also showing trust in his more experienced and most trusted players, such as the likes of Randal Kolo Muani, Adrien Rabiot, and Lucas Hernandez, none of whom are setting the world alight at club level but who, when fit, are selected.

Forcing a way into the France squad will be very difficult between now and the FIFA World Cup next summer. Les Bleus booked their ticket thanks to a 4-0 win over Ukraine on Thursday, and there are still players not currently in the set-up who will have designs on going to North America next summer.

L’Équipe understands that one player on Deschamps’ radar is Wilson Odobert (20), who has featured prominently for Tottenham Hotspur this season (14 appearances, one goal, two assists).

Odobert continues to feature for France’s U-21s (15 appearances, five goals) but has yet to make his senior debut. He is on Deschamps’ “radar”, as per L’Équipe. But competition in this sector is intense, as evidenced by the recent debuts of Maghnes Akliouche and Rayan Cherki, who can both play in his position.

Randal Kolo Muani’s (26) inclusion in the France squad hardly came as a surprise. The Tottenham Hotspur forward wasn’t included in September, having yet to feature for his new side, and then also missed out on the October camp due to injury.

But fit once again, there was little doubt that Didier Deschamps would call on him once again for this upcoming international break. Kolo Muani has yet to score since joining Tottenham Hotspur on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. In seven appearances, he currently has just one assist.

But that didn’t deter Deschamps, who has always shown great faith in the former FC Nantes forward, even when he wasn’t featuring for PSG. That is not to say that his recall is not controversial. As per a report from L’Équipe, the entourages of RKM’s competitors in the forward positions for the France national team have been “rubbed the wrong way” by the Spurs man’s inclusion.

Tottenham Hotspur centre-forward Randal Kolo Muani (26) has earned a recall from France national team boss Didier Deschamps as Les Bleus will seek to book their place for the 2026 World Cup in this month’s international break. France only need a win against Ukraine next Thursday to qualify for the tournament at the earliest opportunity.

With Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé out injured and Marcus Thuram still building his way back into fitness, Deschamps has opted to recall Kolo Muani whilst retaining the services of Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike and Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“I have to make some choices, and from the moment Randal is fit… He’s part of this group for a while now“, Deschamps says about the former Nantes Academy graduate, who earned his first senior France cap in September 2022.

It is no secret that Kolo Muani is highly-rated by Deschamps, and the latter has explained why. “He hasn’t always been at his most clinical, but his work rate and activity have always been high, and he has the ability to play in several positions.” The 1998 and 2018 World Cup winner added that, as long as the PSG loanee is fit, it seems logical to him to be called up for France.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval

UEFA Champions League, Matchday 3, 22/10/25

AS Monaco remain winless in the UEFA Champions League after being held by Tottenham Hotspur (0-0). The Premier League side were reliant on an inspired performance from goalkeeper Vicario.

The Match

Tottenham came to the Stade Louis II with the air of a team that would be happy to leave with one point. That is what they did, but they were reliant on brilliance from Vicario to get it. He made nine saves on the night, at least three of which fall into the exceptional category.

The first two came from Folarin Balogun. The USMNT forward was first played in by Maghnes Akliouche, a player Tottenham tracked over the summer, but could not pull the ball around the onrushing Vicario. Balogun drew an even better save later in the half with the Italian equal to an effort that was bound for the bottom left corner.

Spurs created little. Passive, they looked like a team that were looking to pounce on a Monaco mistake that never campaign. Despite an uptick at the start of the second-half, Tottenham were soon reliant once again on Vicario.

The goalkeeper saved from Aleksandr Golovin and then excellently just moments later from Jordan Teze. The Dutchman, who netted spectacularly against Manchester City earlier in the month had the goal at his mercy but could not provide the goal that Monaco’s performance deserved.

Takumi Minamino missed thrice within the space of as many minutes as the Principality club rallied late-on.

However, both sides were forced to settle for a point, one that much better suits Tottenham, who by Thomas Frank’s own admission, were below parr. Monaco remain winless but take great confidence.

Monaco player ratings

Philipp Kohn – 4

Caio Henrique – 6

Mohammed Salisu – 7

Thilo Kehrer – 6

Kassoum Ouattara – 5

Jordan Teze – 7

Building on his performance against Manchester City, the Dutchman continues to aptly fill in in midfield and has a good spacial awareness to allow him to thrive in the role. Reverting to his more familiar right-wing-back role later in the game, he was dangerous there, too, and perfectly timed his run into the box, only to head straight at Vicario.

Mamadou Coulibaly – 6

Krépin Diatta – 5

Maghnes Akliouche – 7

The Frenchman looks something close to his best. The period between the September international break and the October international break was middling at best for Akliouche, who has rediscovered his creative touch and was at the heart of Monaco’s most dangerous moves. On another day, he would have had at least an assist to his name.

Ansu Fati – 5

Folarin Balogun – 6

The former Arsenal forward missed three chances. However, they were three great saves from Vicario. His lack of a goal does somewhat blot his copybook but it shouldn’t detract from what was an overall strong display, punctuated by several good runs in behind, some of which were found by teammates, others that weren’t.

Tottenham player ratings

Vicario – 8

The man-of-the-match, it could have been a torrid night without Vicario. His shot-stopping was formidable throughout. Three world-class saves and six more from the top draw ensure that Tottenham remain unbeaten in this season’s Champions League.

Archie Gray – 4

Micky Van de Ven – 6

Kevin Danso – 5

Pedro Perro – 4

Lucas Bergvall – 4

Joao Palhinha – 6

Rodrigo Bentancur – 5

Wilson Odobert – 6

The only Tottenham player who looked capable of providing the spark. He was busy, particularly in the first-half and when serviced had the measure of Krépin Diatta, but his opportunities to shine were highly limited by a sub-par collective showing.

Richarlison – 4

Mohammed Kudus – 6

Already doubts to face AS Monaco, Thomas Frank confirmed that neither Cristian Romero nor Destiny Udogie would play any part for Tottenham Hotspur at the Stade Louis II tonight.

Romero was initially in the starting line-up to face Aston Villa over the weekend, but he pulled out after sustaining an injury in the warm-up. It was hoped that he would be fit to return for Tottenham Hotspur against Monaco in tonight’s UEFA Champions League tie, but he has not travelled. Udogie also didn’t travel due to a knee irritation.

It means that former RC Lens defender Kevin Danso will once again deputise in defence. Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, and Dominic Solanke also miss out with injury, whilst Mathys Tel is ineligible to feature.

Tottenham Hotspur likely line-up v Monaco

Vicario; Djed Spence, Micky Van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Pedro Porro; Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha; Xavi Simons, Pape Matar Sarr, Mohammed Kudus; Richarlison. (L’Éq)

AS Monaco have not suffered any fresh injury blows this week, however, they remain without several key players as they prepare to host Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League.

Eric Dier, who suffered a muscular injury last week, is the latest to have succumbed to an injury. The Englishman missed the weekend draw to SCO Angers and despite doing an individual training session on Tuesday, he won’t play against his former club either.

In midfield, Monaco remain without Denis Zakaria and Lamine Camara, whilst Paul Pogba is also not yet fit. Jordan Teze will deputise again, whilst Mamadou Coulibaly is also likely to start, although Aladji Bamba is also in contention. Up front, Folarin Balogun may get the nod ahead of Mika Biereth.

Monaco likely line-up v Tottenham Hotspur

Philipp Kohn; Caio Henrique, Mohammed Salisu, Thilo Kehrer; Kassoum Ouattara, Mamadou Coulibaly, Jordan Teze, Krépin Diatta; Maghnes Akliouche; Ansu Fati, Folarin Balogun.

Eric Dier (31) has suffered an injury in training, according to a report from L’Équipe, and is set to miss several weeks of competition.

Dier has quickly settled since making the move to Monaco this summer. The England international has made eight appearances for the Principality club, scoring twice, whilst he has also worn the captain’s armband, having been included in the ‘leaders group’ at the club. However, just days before a reunion against former club Tottenham Hotspur, the Monaco defender has sustained an injury.

As per L’Équipe, the Englishman has suffered a muscular injury, which will rule him out for between two to four weeks. It means that he misses the game against SCO Angers on Saturday, as well as next week’s UEFA Champions League tie against Tottenham Hotspur. It is yet another blow for Monaco, who are contending with an injury crisis that has depleted their midfield options in particular.