Tottenham player ratings vs PSG: Cristian Romero leads by example as Richarlison takes chance | OneFootball

New Spurs head coach was taking charge of first competitive game

Defeated: Tottenham

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Your matchday briefing on Tottenham, featuring team news and expert analysis from Dan Kilpatrick

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Tottenham fell to a painful 4-3 penalty-shootout defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.

Set-pieces proved the difference for Spurs, with Micky van de Ven opening the scoring before the break and Cristian Romero doubling the advantage with a header from a free-kick early in the second half.

Misses from Micky van de Ven and Mathys Tel proved costly to send Spurs into the new Premier League season in agonising fashion.

Here’s how Matt Verri rated the Spurs players in Udine...

Guglielmo Vicario 6

Distribution not always convincing but long balls from free-kicks caused PSG problems. Barely had a save to make in the match and felt like a spectator in the shootout.

Pedro Porro 7

Shot fired early in opening moments. Didn’t always pick his moments well to press but largely stood up to the test well when one-on-one.

Kevin Danso 6

His long throws provide another weapon for Spurs. Struggled with the pace of Bradley Barcola, with Porro’s pressing leaving him exposed at times.

Cristian Romero 8

Captain’s performance in his first match since being given the armband permanently. Marshalled things from the middle of the back three and dealt confidently with crosses in. Headed goal in front of the Spurs fans sparked wild celebrations.

Captain fantastic: Cristian Romero

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Micky van de Ven 7

Poor penalty saved but a supreme display in the 90 minutes. Trademark pace to mop up loose balls, reacted quickest in the box to open the scoring and a brilliant sliding block in his own six-yard box in second half.

Djed Spence 7

Going to give Frank a real headache when Destiny Udogie is fit again. Set the tone when dealing superbly with an early Achraf Hakimi run in behind and was rock solid defensively up until Ousmane Dembele got cross past him for stoppage-time equaliser.

Joao Palhinha 7

Much sharper in midfield than a week ago against Bayern Munich, snapping into the challenges. His effort was tipped onto the bar for opening goal.

Rodrigo Bentancur 8

Selfless performance saw him make several bursts forward out wide, which is not necessarily his game. Dropped into a deeper role late on and still put in a real shift when visibly exhausted. Great penalty.

Pape Matar Sarr 8

Easy to see why Frank loves him. Relentless in pressing high up the pitch, twice winning fouls just outside the PSG box as a result, and popped up in his own box to cover when Danso and Romero were out of position.

Mohammed Kudus 7

More central role and he combined nicely with Richarlison. Limited influence in the final third though and hardly had a kick in the second half.

Richarlison 8

Worked tirelessly up front, holding the ball up expertly and winning cheap free-kicks. Still a nagging frustration that the end product is not there, but this was an impressive all-round showing.

Unlucky loser: Richarlison

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Substitutes

Dominic Solanke (Richarlison 72’) 6

Put his body around to hold the ball up and confidently dispatched penalty. His return from injury a big boost ahead of the new season and now in contention to start against Burnley.

Archie Gray (Palhinha 72’) 6

Encouraging for him that he was the first midfielder called upon off the bench

Mathys Tel (Kudus 78’) 4

Conceded a dangerous free-kick on the edge of his own box, fortunate not to be punished. Failed to even hit the target with his spot-kick.

Lucas Bergvall (Sarr 90’) N/A