August 14 – UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain left it late to thwart a new-look Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup last night in Udine, Italy, beating the Europa League Champions on penalties.
Spurs showed plenty of promise and looked a far cry from the team that placed 17th in the English Premier League last season. They opened the scoring in the 39th minute via a close-range prod home from Dutch defender Micky Van de Ven – a lead which was doubled early in the second half by his defensive partner Cristian Romero.
Late goals from Kang-In Lee (85th minute) and Gonçalo Ramos (93rd minute) shellshocked the English side who were otherwise in cruise control, taking the match to penalties which Thomas Frank’s side did not look particularly prepared for.
It provided the perfect opportunity for Chevalier to make amends for an earlier mistake, as he saved Van de Ven’s penalty. The young keeper has been under the microscope since signing for the European Champions last week, with PSG boss Luis Enrique suddenly keen to offload incumbent Gianluigi Donnarumma
The defining moment of the shootout came from Spurs youngster Mathys Tel, who blazed his shot well wide of the post despite sending Chevalier the wrong way.
To add insult to injury, Tottenham Hotspur have turned to social media to condemn the racial abuse the young Frenchman has received online following his decisive penalty miss.
“We are disgusted at the racial abuse that Mathys Tel has received on social media following last night’s UEFA Super Cup defeat,” read the club’s official statement on X, posted on Thursday.
“Mathys showed bravery and courage to step forward and take a penalty, yet those who abuse him are nothing but cowards – hiding behind anonymous usernames and profiles to spout their abhorrent views.
“We will work with the authorities and social media platforms to take the strongest possible action against any individual we are able to identify.
“We stand with you, Mathys.”
Spurs will hope for another strong performance against Burnley on Saturday afternoon to kick off their Premier League campaign.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [email protected]