London Evening Standard

The teenagers started in midfield for Tottenham on Wednesday night in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain as Frank shuffled his pack.

He opted for a 4-2-2-2 system and Gray and Bergvall both shone in the 5-3 defeat, a match in which Spurs showed far more attacking intent than they have in recent weeks.

The pair combined for the north Londoners' opener, Bergvall releasing Gray down the left wing to stand up a cross for Randal Kolo Muani to nod across the face of goal, and Richarlison was there to provide the finish.

The teenagers have not started together in midfield in the Premier League since the opening weekend of the season against Burnley, but that could soon change.

"I think if you perform like they did against the European champions away from home, I think you're ready to start in the Premier League," Frank said at his press conference on Thursday.

Pressed on whether that meant he had no hesitation about starting them against Fulham on Saturday night, Frank responded: "Absolutely not."

The head coach is still searching for the right balance at home, where Spurs have not win in the Premier League for three months.

He has regularly relied on a partnership of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur but the pressure is growing on him to opt for something more ambitious.

Frank liked the "intensity" and the "aggressive" nature of Spurs' performance in Paris, but he suggested the specific gameplan used against PSG is not necessarily a blueprint that he will stick to.

"But I think it depends on the opponent. It depends on the type of game. I think we need different types.

"I've said that before. Being pragmatic is not having the same principles in all the phases. But maybe choose different types for different games."

Teenagers brought real energy and drive to Spurs midfield against PSG

Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray thrived in PSG defeat on Wednesday

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Matt Verri

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Vitinha dispatched his penalty and for the ninth time in barely 72 hours, Guglielmo Vicario was fetching the ball from his own net.

After a 4-1 north London derby defeat to Arsenal, Vicario hit out at the lack of "fight" from the Tottenham players as he said sorry to the fans.

No apologies were required to the supporters in Paris, though the fact Spurs shipped five goals and came away with a far more positive feeling is an indication of just how low the bar was heading into the match.

This 5-3 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain provided more encouraging signs than there have been for many weeks at Spurs. It must be a platform that Thomas Frank and his players now build on.

The team line-up and shape have lurched around from match to match with Frank searching for answers and in Paris he went for something new again.

Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani started as a front two with four midfield runners behind them in Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Lucas Bergvall was key to a much-improved Spurs performance

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“As you could see the gameplan was to really go after PSG, man to man,” Frank said after the match.

“If anyone's followed me just a tiny bit, they know that that's what I want.

“That's much more the identity, that aggressiveness, that dynamic into the team, and to do that against PSG, who are that fluid and that mobile all over the pitch, I thought we needed a more running, powerful midfield across the midfield four.”

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Gray and Bergvall thrived in the 4-2-2-2 system. They brought real energy and drive to the midfield, harrying the PSG players from the opening minutes, and there was quality on the ball too.

The pair have a close relationship and twice they combined brilliantly down the left when Bergvall released Gray with a backheel. The second of those brought Spurs' opening goal.

This should be the attacking blueprint for Spurs in the weeks ahead, approaching matches with intent and pushing up the pitch.

Bergvall and in particular Gray have found minutes hard to come by this season but Frank needs to find a way to regularly get the pair in the team.

The teenagers are both popular among the fanbase and will garner plenty of patience if given a run in the side even if they do make mistakes.

Archie Gray thrived on his first appearance in over a month

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The good feeling built up from an encouraging display in Paris would be swiftly wiped out if Frank started against Fulham on Saturday with Joao Palhinha and Bentancur in midfield. He must think bigger and more ambitiously than that.

Frank has emphasised that he is learning with every match at Spurs and there were clear lessons to take from the defeat to PSG.

It was obvious how much Bergvall and Gray brought to the side and neither deserve to now drop out, even if that does leave a selection dilemma further up the pitch.

Xavi Simons could still be used as one of the two attacking midfielders, potentially replacing Sarr, while Mohammed Kudus is an option to partner Kolo Muani up front should Frank also want him in the side.

The reaction to this loss should also serve as a lesson for Frank. Spurs were beaten 5-3 and yet the response has been generally positive. There was no emptying of the away end at the Parc des Princes.

Spurs fans do not expect their side to win every match, particularly against opposition as elite as this, but they do want the team to play in a way that suggests the manager and players believe they can.

Fulham will be the real test of whether this was a one-off or a new dawn. It is a match Spurs must win and win well, and the team must approach it in the same aggressive manner.

There has been too much fear at Spurs this season. The youthful verve of Bergvall and Gray is a welcome antidote to that and, if allowed, the pair can lead the Frank project back onto more solid ground.

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Sport | Football

Three things we learned from Tottenham defeat as fringe players make case for starts

Spurs were looking for a response after defeat in the north London derby

Paid off: Randal Kolo Muani and Thomas Frank

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Matt Verri

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Well, Thomas Frank was told to bring some entertainment back to Tottenham.

There was no shortage of it, good and bad, as Spurs fell to a 5-3 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

After a run of dismal displays, particularly in attack, Spurs showed much more life in forward areas and this felt like a platform to build on.

The positives, though, can only run so far when conceding five goals and falling to another heavy defeat. It is now three wins in 12 matches.

Spurs twice took the lead and scored three on the night through Richarlison and a Randal Kolo Muani brace, but Vitinha netted a hat-trick and both Fabian Ruiz and Willian Pacho were the recipients of gifts at the back.

Sloppy errors punished but positives to take

Frank's gameplan worked and the visitors were good value for the lead they held early in the second half.

However, an incredibly sloppy 20 minutes proved the north Londoners' undoing. Cristian Romero led that particular charge, playing Pape Matar Sarr into trouble for Ruiz's goal to make it 3-2.

The Spurs captain then played another terrible pass which, after a hurried, shanked clearance from Pedro Porro, led to a corner. Sarr had the chance to clear that too, stumbled over his own feet and Pacho pounced to score.

Punished: Cristian Romero

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The mess at the back was complete when Romero then charged down a shot with his arm as he slid in, conceding a penalty for PSG's fifth.

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Individual errors cost Frank’s side and it will leave him disappointed. This was not a defeat you could put down to his tactics or his approach.

That in itself is encouraging with Spurs far more ambitious in showing some intent they can take into upcoming matches.

However, the fact that they came away from a match conceding five goals and yet with a sense of positivity shows there are significant issues.

Gray and Bergvall send Frank message

For the first time since the opening weekend of the season, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall started together in midfield.

Within 15 minutes, there was enough evidence that Frank cannot allow it to be another three months until the pair can combine again.

Bergvall was primarily playing off the left with Gray centrally, but they both had the freedom to roam and added real energy and intensity to the midfield.

Impressive: Lucas Bergvall

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Spurs pressed more in the opening stages here than in the entirety of the defeat to Arsenal and Bergvall and Gray were key to that.

There was quality from the teenagers, too. One Bergvall flick sent Gray in behind down the left, with the Englishman's cross then cleared.

It was a carbon copy for a sensational opening goal, Bergvall releasing Gray who stood up a cross for Kolo Muani to knock down and Richarlison did the rest.

The pair offer energy on and off the ball and have a good relationship. It is a partnership that must be allowed to flourish.

Kolo Muani sends PSG reminder

Champions League rules allow players on loan to face their parent club and so a masked Kolo Muani lined up against PSG.

Two goals, an assist, and a hugely promising all-round performance later, there can be no arguing who Spurs' most effective striker is of the options currently available to Frank.

The Frenchman has showed flashes of what he can do without providing the clinical edge in front of goal.

This was the night he put it all together and got off the mark in a Spurs shirt with two thumping finishes in familiar surroundings.

He did the hard yards well too, running the channels and holding the ball well to get the visitors up the pitch. His clever header also left Richarlison with a simple finish.

Strikers thrive off confidence and Kolo Muani should leave Paris with plenty of it after a brilliant performance.

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Tottenham twice threw away a lead as they fell to a 5-3 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in a rollercoaster Champions League encounter. Spurs were out for revenge on the current European champions, who beat them in August’s UEFA Super Cup on penalties. Thomas Frank’s side were looking for a response after their north London derby drubbing by Arsenal at the weekend, and they showed plenty of fight and character in the French capital, as the Dane rang the changes. One of those changes, Randal Kolo Muani, hit a brace against his parent club, which followed Richarlison’s opener, which the Brazilian nodded home from close range after great play from Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray down the left.

The visitors were pegged back almost immediately as they were caught out by a short corner, and Vitinha thundered home from range via the crossbar. The north Londoners regained the advantage when Kolo Muani notched the second, with Pedro Porro’s deep corner kept alive by Richarlison and Gray, before the striker lashed home on 50 minutes. Vitinha was at it once more as he bent home a beauty just a minute and a half later to level, and an error from Cristian Romero and Pape Matar Sarr allowed Fabian Ruiz to turn the game on its head in a quickfire double salvo for Paris.

It was four not long after as William Pacho seized upon some sloppy Spurs defending from a corner to scramble home, but Kolo Muani lashed home a third with 18 minutes to play after Vitinha was robbed by Rodrigo Bentancur. Any lingering hope Spurs had of a famous comeback was quickly dashed as Romero was penalised for a handball on the slide, and Vitinha stepped up to convert from 18 yards to seal not just his hat-trick, but a crucial victory for Luis Enrique’s holders after their disappointing defeat by Bayern Munich last time out.

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