Tottenham Hotspur

Thomas Frank spoke to the media at Parc des Princes after our 5-3 loss against PSG in MD5 of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.

Here's what he had to say...

You said on Tuesday the performance is always more important than the result and that is surely a performance you're very proud of…

Thomas: “Yeah, definitely. I'm pleased with the performance. It was the reaction I wanted from the players, from the team. We've been working very hard on that - the players, the staff, me, to make sure that we responded well and bounced back because that's crucial after a bad performance. Today, I saw more identity of the team I want to create, we want to create. Much more character, personality, aggressiveness. Three words you need to have in any team, no matter how you want to do, how you want to play, whatever formation, whatever. Today we saw it, that I'm pleased with. Of course, I think it was performance that was up there where we could get something out of the game, a draw or a win, so that's a little frustrating thing that we conceded some goals. Of course, one with a little bit of margin from Vitinha, not top corner but top top corner, but goals three and four, those are the ones we definitely need to avoid if we want to get something out of here. But something to build on - strikers scoring two goals, the whole team, I think, all performed well. Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, positive. We played against a decent team where they have one Ballon d'Or winner and I think the next one is playing in midfield, Vitinha - wow, what a player.”

Randal Kolo Muani – aside from his two goals – we just saw what he is capable of once he gets a bit of a run in the team and a bit of consistency under his belt...

Thomas: “Today we saw what hopefully we can expect. I think even two goals and an assist in every game is probably too much. I would love to get that every single game. As I said the whole time, he came in late with no pre-season, not top fit, had two setbacks, especially with the dead leg and then the broken jaw. Today we saw more of it. He's still not top fi, so hopefully we'll come even more.”

You mentioned Archie and Lucas - how impressive is it for two 19-year-olds to come to a place like this and play with that kind of fearlessness?

Thomas: “Very impressive. Two young players, I said from the beginning, I believe a lot in. 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, character - we liked it.”

Tell us a bit about your formation, especially the way that midfield worked…

Thomas: “The game plan to really get after PSG, go man to man, that’s much more of the identity I want, that aggressiveness, dynamic into the team. To do that against PSG who are that fluid, mobile all over the pitch, powerful in midfield, yes.”

Just sort of linked to that, the team seemed to be much more threatening in attack today. What do you put that down to?

Thomas: “I think a combination of a good response, so we had a good performance. We just performed better. I also think that it was a more open game, so when you face teams that are banged in, you probably sometimes meet a little bit different. Today was more open and we could use the mobility of Archie, Lucas, Pape and then the two strikers that worked well together.”

On the midfield again, it’s only the second time this season that Lucas, Archie and Pape have all started a game together. What made you decide that all three of them, as a very young trio, could start this game together and all work together?

Thomas: “I think the main bit was a little bit the game plan that we wanted for running midfielders. Not a winger, just because of the dynamic to follow their man-man pressure. That was one thing. Then, because I knew when we wanted them in these open spaces, they're so willing runners, that definitely helped in the spaces they created from there.”

A game full of drama and goals saw us suffer our first loss in this season’s UEFA Champions League as holders Paris Saint-Germain inflicted a 5-3 defeat on us on Wednesday night.

On-loan Randal Kolo Muani scored twice against his parent club – his first Spurs goals – and Richarlison netted for the third successive game as we took the game to the French champions, but they took control in the second half with Vitinha completing a hat-trick and further goals from Fabian Ruiz and Willian Pacho.

We were level at the break at 1-1, Richarlison and Vitinha scoring for each side, before six goals in a crazy 30-minute spell in the second half moved the home side 5-3 ahead. There was even a red card in stoppage time, Lucas Hernandez seeing red for an elbow into the face of Xavi Simons, but by that stage the points were in the bag for PSG.

Looking for a response following the disappointment of Sunday’s north London derby, we were bright and brave as the game opened up and playing much more on the front foot. That didn’t prevent the home side from going close on a few occasions in the opening 20 minutes though, Fabian Ruiz fizzing wide from 20 yards, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia curling right-footed just past the far post and Warren Zaire-Emery unable to lift Vitinha’s neat pass over Gugliemo Vicario from close range.

We were well in the game though, playing confidently through the lines and getting players forward whenever the opportunity arose. The final ball was just lacking at times, but not in the 35th minute when we took the lead with a wonderful goal. Lucas Bergvall got down the left flank and played a clever back flick to put Archie Gray in behind him, he dinked a cross to the back post which Kolo Muani headed back into the danger zone and there was Richarlison to nod into a vacant net from inside the six-yard box.

Unfortunately though, we were pegged back just before half-time. Vitinha had a shot from the edge of the box deflected for a corner and, from the set-piece, Kvaratskhelia took a short one to Quentin Ndjantou who rolled the ball into the path of Vitinha and he let it come across his body before striking an incredible right-foot drive in off the crossbar with Vicario helpless.

It was a blow to concede so late in the half, but we came out quickly after the interval and looked to impose ourselves on the game, getting a swift reward with our second goal on 50 minutes. One dangerous corner from Pedro Porro was flicked away by a PSG head for a second and this time, his deep cross was nodded back by Richarlison, Gray’s prod goalwards was cleared off the line but it fell to Kolo Muani who volleyed into the net despite Marquinhos’ best efforts on the line to keep it out.

Back came the Parisiens though, Bradley Barcola heading over from a good position before they levelled it up, that man Vitinha again scoring another fine goal from distance, this time curling left-footed from 20 yards. And they took the lead for the first time in the game in the 59th minute when Cristian Romero played a pass out of defence to Pape Matar Sarr who was immediately tackled, Joao Neves backheeled the loose ball to Fabian Ruiz and he swept home from the edge of the area. Before we could get a foothold back into the game, it was 4-2 as Pacho capitalised on some hesitant defending from a corner to prod home and we were left with a huge challenge.

We didn’t shirk away from it though, kept trying to play and were rewarded with a third goal with 18 minutes remaining. Vitinha was dispossessed deep inside his own half by Rodrigo Bentancur, Kolo Muani picked up the ball, beat two defenders in the box and lashed a low shot past Lucas Chevalier. However, no sooner had we got back into the game than we conceded again, Vitinha completing the first hat-trick of his professional career when he slotted home a penalty to make it 5-3 after Romero was penalised for handball in the area when sliding in to block a shot.

There was no let-up to the pace of the game and Pedro Porro’s deflected shot had Chevalier scampering across his goal to push the ball away for a corner, Wilson Odobert fired into the side-netting and, at the other end, Goncalo Ramos couldn’t put the finishing touch to a well-worked PSG move before Micky van de Ven got in the way of Ousmane Dembele’s pass in the box which would have found Ramos in on goal had it reached him.

The game ended on an unsavoury note when Hernandez was given a straight red card after a pitchside review, having caught Xavi with an elbow to the face. From the resulting free-kick, Pedro Porro sent his 25-yard effort a yard over the bar and that brought to an end a crazy night in Paris.

We can now confirm the starting XIs and substitutes for tonight's Champions League clash at Paris Saint-Germain

We have made five changes to the team that started Sunday's north London derby.

Thomas Frank has made alterations across the team which sees Pedro Porro, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr and Randal Kolo Muani all return to the starting XI.

Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Joao Palhinha, Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus all begin amongst our substitutes.

Starting XI: Vicario, Richarlison, Gray, Bergvall, Romero (c), Pedro Porro, Spence, Sarr, Bentancur, van de Ven, Kolo Muani.

Substitutes: Kinsky, Austin, Danso, Palhinha, Xavi, Udogie, Kudus, Odobert, Davies, Scarlett, T. Thompson, Williams-Barnett.

Next week, we will be upgrading our login system for all supporters across several of the Club’s digital platforms.

This upgrade is one of the wider improvements we are making to the digital experience in the coming months – and will make logging in simpler, more secure and more consistent for fans across our platforms.

Supporters will be required to follow some simple steps to authenticate their email address and change their password – and we will contact all fans to let them know exactly what they need to do.

What is changing?

From Tuesday 2 December, supporters will use one email address and one password to log in to:

The Official Spurs App

eTicketing

The Members Hub

SPURSPLAY

Player Development Programmes - Online Booker

You’ll no longer be able to use your CRN to log in – but your CRN will remain linked to your account.

What do I need to do?

Once the new login system is live, you’ll need to:

Authenticate your email address

Update your password

We will email you on Tuesday 2 December with a step-by-step guide showing exactly how to do this. You’ll only need to follow these steps once – and once you’ve completed them, you’ll be able to log in quickly and easily with your email address.

What if I require assistance?

We’ll contact supporters with details of the short, simple steps they need to follow. We’ve prepared a helpful guide which will be able to assist with any frequently asked questions – including what to do if you need to change your email address or if you have multiple accounts registered with your email address.

We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Jamie Carr as our new Under-18s Coach.

The 34-year-old arrives at Hotspur Way following seven years with Manchester City’s Academy, where he was most recently Under-16s Coach and an assistant with their Under-18s.

Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, the former defender began his coaching journey at Reading and enjoyed a six-month stint coaching youngsters in India before joining City in 2018. He led their Under-13s before progressing to work with the Under-16s and Under-18s.

Away from football, Jamie has made headlines with two high-profile charity expeditions in recent years, running six ultra-marathons in six days across the Sahara Desert before completing a 3,000-mile, 54-day solo row across the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Spurs, a fantastic club with a rich history of developing young players,” said Jamie. “We have so much exciting young talent here and we’re in a great place already with the Under-18s, so I look forward to integrating with the team of staff and players and helping to continue the incredible work that’s taking place. Player development is something I’m very passionate about, so to have the chance to come here and work with the Under-18s, both individually and collectively, to help them on their footballing journeys is something that really excites me.”

Simon Davies, Academy Director, said: “We’re delighted to have Jamie on board. He arrives with a wealth of coaching experience, which has included working around the Professional Development Phase at Manchester City, where he’s made a positive impact on the journeys of a number of elite players. He’s a fantastic coach and, crucially, a fantastic person, meaning he’s an excellent fit for our Academy. I look forward to seeing him integrate with our highly-skilled and dedicated team of staff and working for the benefit of our young players.”

Jamie will be supported by existing Under-18s assistant coaches Bradley Allen and Chris Riley, along with Head of Academy Coaching Joe Staunton.

His first match in charge will be Saturday’s Under-18 Premier League north London derby at home to Arsenal (11am UK, live on SPURSPLAY).

Watch | Jamie Carr's first interview on SPURSPLAY

Our hopes of finishing in the top eight of the UEFA Youth League and therefore a favourable draw in the knockout stage were dealt a blow as PSG ran out 5-2 winners in Matchday Five of the competition in Paris on Wednesday afternoon.

A place in the top 22 of 36 to progress from the league phase to the knockout stage looks set - where we finish in that top 22 will now be determined by our final match of the league phase, MD6 at home to SK Slavia Prague on Tuesday 9 December.

Back to the PSG Campus and two clinical spells from the home side caused all the damage - three goals in 10 minutes in the first half, two goals in four minutes in the second, just as we'd threatened a comeback by hauling ourselves back to 3-2, Oliver Irow and James Rowswell on target.

It wasn't to be - but we live to fight another day with MD6 a fortnight away.

We held our own for the first 20 minutes - both teams had half-chances, neither goalkeeper tested - before PSG took a grip on proceedings midway through the half. The opener arrived on 21 minutes when David Boly was picked out in space right side, the ball was moved inside where Mathis Jangeal played into Adam Ayari, he went down but Rayan Abo El Nay was there to convert the loose ball from close range.

The home team's press was impressive with many players committed forward and so quick in transition - the root of three of the five goals - and that's how they doubled their lead on 26 minutes. Thomas Cordier won possession deep this time, Jangeal released Pierre Mounguengue and he squared for Noah Nsoki to finish.

The high press also led to the third goal on 30 minutes - Tynan Thompson was crowded out, Mounguengue came away with the ball, spun left and drilled home from 25 yards.

We started to turn the tide within two minutes, however, and a picturebook goal of our own as Harry Byrne fed Thompson down the left, he shifted away from Boly and pinged in a low cross swept home from 10 yards by Irow, great wing play and finish.

The comeback was really on 10 minutes into the second half when Rowswell darted to the near post to meet and flick home Byrne's corner for 3-2.

Unfortunately, PSG found another gear and Ayari was inches wide before restoring PSG's lead back to two goals, this time found in space right side, he drove inside before firing home with his left foot, 67 minutes on the clock. The fifth and final goal arrived two minutes later when Archer's clearance was snapped up by Ayari, who made no mistake from 12 yards.

Thomas Frank feels European champions PSG are 'almost complete' - he's relishing the chance to face them in the UEFA Champions League at Parc des Princes in France's capital this evening (8pm UK).

Matchday Five of the league phase of the competition reunites us with opponents we pushed to the limit in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine, Italy in August.

Almost four months on, it's a different set of circumstances as we face the Ligue 1 giants again, this time off the back of a 4-1 loss in the north London derby on Sunday.

Speaking to us at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night, and asked 'how good are PSG?', Thomas replied: "They're very, very good. I think they are almost complete, I would say.

"Offensively, they have so much threat, both running in behind, pace, one vs one abilities, finishing outside the box, three midfielders that, you know, incredible on the ball, super aggressive in the pressure.

"It's a top team. The good thing is, we showed in the Super Cup that we can compete against them, and I'll be very disappointed if we don't compete and bounce back. We will suffer at moments, we will defend a lot - but we need to be able to compete."

How much was he relishing the challenge? " It's what it all about - and you need to enjoy it, you need to enjoy when it's tough, you need to enjoy the suffering, and then there'll be good spells where it will be on the ball, we try to create. That's what we need to enjoy."

UEFA Super Cup highlights...

"Spurs take on the European Champions again having pushed them all the way in the Super Cup. PSG may be missing a Ballon D’Or winner – but their depth is frightening – and Thomas Frank will want his side to be more aggressive out of possession tonight..."

Rob Daly, official club commentator, presenter and pundit

Lessons from Arsenal...

"What I would say is that no matter if we played another system - we needed to be more aggressive and better in the duels," said Thomas Frank after Sunday’s loss at Arsenal. In the first half especially, the head coach could be seen gesturing frantically at his players to press more when Arsenal played out from the back – with Spurs operating in a 5-4-1 formation before the half-time change. “Sometimes it’s not only playing out and finding a nice pass but also, in a game like this, if you see some of the situations where they won it high (Arsenal) then there was a little bit more open space. We didn’t win it enough in those situations and then create." As Jurgen Klopp once said: “No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation." The irony being that Spurs did press PSG very aggressively in Udine, especially in the first half, to cause them major problems.

Super Cup, super start...

Richarlison and Mo Kudus, operating as a front two in a 3-5-2 formation that day, hassled the goalkeeper and centre-backs while Pedro Porro and Djed Spence would get high to full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes to put them under pressure. Even Spurs’ centre-backs could be adventurous and step up if they felt PSG were in trouble playing out. Both the Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero goals came from set-pieces, but they were an overall reward for the surprise approach. PSG came on much stronger into the final half an hour, with a focus on working the ball out wide more often as Spurs sat back in their 5-3-2 shape out of possession with the 2-0 lead.

How PSG fought back...

Ousmane Dembele had been playing his false 9 role, one that saw him finish last season with 35 goals, but the France star was moved out to the right wing as Goncalo Ramos – a centre-forward – replaced Desire Doue. Fabian Ruiz and Kang-in Lee added more thrust in attacking midfield, with the latter pulling one back in the 85th minute, before Dembele’s super cross in added-time, from the right, picked out Ramos to make it 2-2. “They were stronger than us. I don’t know if it’s a fair result, but that’s football” was PSG boss Luis Enrique’s full-time assessment after a shoot-out win. “I am very happy, despite the fact it may have been unfair on Tottenham." Thomas Frank said afterwards: "It was in medical terms, the operation succeeded but the patient died. So not that good in the end. But we worked on a game plan that was a little bit different and we were very close to succeeding.”

No Dembele, no problem...

PSG are likely without Ousmane Dembele tonight, but they have won both league games since he picked up a calf injury at Bayern on Matchday 4. He’s actually missed a chunk of the season anyway with a thigh issue, however they remain top of Ligue 1 by 2 points, while they’re fifth in the league phase going into the matchweek having won their opening 3 Champions League matches prior to their 2-1 loss to Harry Kane’s Bundesliga champions. They’re also without the Golden Boy award win Desire Doue, who picked up a thigh issue in late October, along with African footballer of the year Achraf Hakimi, also injured against Bayern like Dembele. But they beat Le Havre 3-0 at the weekend without those players and surely we can expect Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola to start with both only used a subs in that game.

Frank decisions - and familiar faces...

Will Thomas Frank use the 5-3-2 formation from the Super Cup again – or will he be tempted to try and play as they did in the second half of the Arsenal game with something closer to a 4-2-3-1? No matter what system – he’ll want the team’s pressing to be more effective. Brennan Johnson misses out through suspension, but perhaps the game presents a good chance to bring Randal Kolo Muani back into the starting XI. Wearing his mask, as we saw on Sunday due to damage to his jaw, one imagines he’ll relish the chance to face his parent club (54 games, 11 goals). Something similar could be said for Xavi Simons – who made 11 appearances for PSG – before a series of loans and his eventual sale to RB Leipzig. Wilson Odobert, a PSG academy product who played alongside Xavi, didn’t make a first team appearance before a 2022 move to Troyes aged 17.

Watch | Super Cup highlights

It’s another big one in the UEFA Champions League tonight (Wednesday 26 November) as we take on Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital.

Here’s everything you need to know about the matchday five encounter...

What time does the match start?

The game begins at 9pm local time in France, 8pm in the UK.

How can I watch the game?

Supporters in the UK will be able to watch the action live on TNT Sports 3.

If you’re following us from overseas, check out our Spurs on TV page to see if the game is live in your area.

Our Match Centre here on tottenhamhotspur.com and the Spurs Official app will bring you full live text and audio commentary throughout the match.

Highlights will be available on SPURSPLAY on Thursday.

What is the team news?

Brennan Johnson misses out for us through suspension after being sent off against FC Copenhagen on matchday four.

Mathys Tel (ineligible) is also unavailable but aside from those two players, we have no further absentees coming out of Sunday’s defeat at Arsenal.

Dominic Solanke, Ben Davies, Yves Bissouma, Kota Takai, Radu Dragusin, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski remain out, with the latter five ineligible anyway.

Achraf Hakimi and Desire Doue are out for PSG while Ousmane Dembele has struggled with a calf problem of late, but may still be involved tonight.

Black Friday at Spurs 2025  Tottenham Hotspur