Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur faced off against Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain in the 2025 UEFA Super Cup in the Italian city of Udine.
In blistering heat, it was Spurs who carved out the first chance of the game as Pedro Porro fired over the bar inside the opening minutes, an early glimpse of what was to come in the first half.
This was PSG’s first outing since their shock Club World Cup final defeat to Chelsea, after what has been a busy summer for many of Europe’s top clubs, with many fans making good use of services like GO Sport Travel to help navigate their journeys. The lack of match practice in the PSG ranks was evident. A sloppy error from Ousmane Dembélé was pounced upon by summer signing Mohammed Kudus, who slid a perfect ball through to Richarlison, who forced a superb save from Lucas Chevalier.
New manager, Thomas Frank’s style was clear from the outset: more solid defensively, quick to counter, and dangerous from set pieces. New signing Kevin Danso unsettled PSG’s defence with his long throws and aerial presence. It
Seven minutes before the break, Spurs finally got the goal their play deserved. A long free-kick from Guglielmo Vicario found Cristian Romero, whose header was kept out by Chevalier. Rodrigo Bentancur was first to the rebound but was denied again, before Micky van de Ven reacted like a striker to slam the ball home and give Tottenham a 1–0 lead at the interval.
PSG started the second half just as they left off, when Vitinha’s kickoff went badly astray — aiming to smash it out for a throw-in and press the Spurs back line, the Portuguese international instead sent it straight out for a goal kick. Moments later, more sloppy play out from the back allowed Richarlison to test Chevalier again.
The PSG keeper had been reliable all night, but another lapse proved costly. Switching off from a free-kick, the Parisians left Romero completely unmarked at the back post, and the Spurs defender made no mistake with his header past Chevalier, a goal the keeper will feel he should have kept out.
Two goals down and with it all to do, PSG finally showed signs of life around the 65-minute mark. Excellent work from Désiré Doué forced Vicario into a strong save, and moments later Bradley Barcola had the ball in the net — only for the flag to go up for an offside against Fabián Ruiz in the build-up. Spurs survived, but it was a warning of what was to come.
From that moment, PSG controlled proceedings, pinning Spurs deep in their own half, though without carving out many clear-cut chances. A slick, flowing move reminiscent of last season finally opened them up — only for Ousmane Dembélé to fire wide of the far post.
The pressure eventually told on 84 minutes when Lee Kang-in unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the box to give PSG a lifeline. Then, deep into stoppage time, Dembélé delivered a pinpoint cross and substitute Gonçalo Ramos rose to power home a header, sending the PSG fans into raptures and forcing the match into a penalty shootout.
Spurs went first and made no mistake. Dominic Solanke calmly slotted home. Vitinha stepped up for PSG but fluffed his lines, sending the keeper the wrong way yet dragging his effort wide. Advantage Spurs.
Rodrigo Bentancur then had the chance to put Spurs 2-0 up from the spot, and he smashed it home. PSG needed a response and got it as Gonçalo Ramos rifled his effort in with no chance for the keeper, 2-1.
Momentum swung when Micky van de Ven saw his spot-kick saved brilliantly by the PSG goalkeeper. The Champions League holders then capitalised as Ousmane Dembélé made it 2-2.
The drama continued as Mathys Tel missed the target completely, handing PSG the chance to go ahead. Lee Kang-in obliged, putting the Parisians 3-2 in front. Pedro Porro had to score to keep Spurs alive, and he delivered with a thunderbolt into the top corner.
That left Nuno Mendes with the chance to seal history, and he did just that, coolly converting to hand PSG their first-ever UEFA Super Cup and France’s first triumph in the competition.
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