(Credit Imago)

George Overhill

Wed 26 November 2025 22:08, UK

Tottenham produced a great response to the North London derby defeat before throwing it away to lose 5-3 at PSG.

Spurs took the lead in the 35th minute with an excellently-worked move being finished off by Richarlison, nodding home Randal Kolo Muani‘s header back across goal after great work down the left between Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray.

They couldn’t make it to the break with the lead, however, as Vitinha smashed the equaliser in via the bar with a first-time effort from outside the area after a corner in the 45th minute.

Richarlison and Gray were both involved after the interval as Tottenham re-took the lead when Kolo Muani slammed the rebound home after the youngster’s header had been diverted into the bar – his first goal for the club.

But again they couldn’t hold on as Vitinha twisted and turned on the edge of the box and curled past Guglielmo Vicario again soon after, and Fabian Ruiz turned the game on its head inside an hour, sweeping home after Cristian Romero had needlessly played Pape Matar Sarr into trouble.

That error threw away so much good work as five minutes later the game was out of sight when Willian Pacho scored a fourth when Tottenham failed to clear a corner. Kolo Muani smashed home his second to pull one back but it wasn’t enough as Romero was quickly penalised for handball, allowing Vitinha to complete his hat-trick from the spot.

Lucas Hernandez was shown a late red card for elbowing Xavi Simons but the game was already lost in a hugely-frustrating night for Thomas Frank.

Randal Kolo Muani’s Tottenham coming out party

It has largely been the attacking unit that has been the problem for Frank in recent weeks, in the absence of injured stars such as Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski.

Kolo Muani’s arrival at Tottenham in the summer on loan from PSG has so far proven to be something of a damp squib.

The Frenchman had failed to find the net in nine appearances across all competitions, contributing to a worrying lack of bite going forward.

But back in the French capital against his parent club he put in an excellent away forward’s performance that looked like it might deliver a hugely-uplifting result for the best part of an hour.

An assist and a goal against the European champions should never be sniffed at, and the wherewithal he showed to lay Richarlison’s opener on a plate suggested the pair could yet develop a nice partnership.

His well-taken goal immediately after the break might have been the winner if Tottenham hadn’t been so easily beaten at the back, and his venomous second gave the visitors a chance to fight back, so Frank will have to hope his on-loan striker finally arriving at the party can be the main positive despite the result.

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Cristian Romero error ruins Spurs reaction to Arsenal loss

After Tottenham were hammered 4-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday there was so much to like about the response in Paris.

Twice taking the lead was more than most Spurs fans would have expected, but the inability to hold out in defence undercut the impressive work in attack.

Vicario was nowhere near any of the goals and Sarr looked clumsy while playing a role in the third and fourth, but captain Romero’s night was absolutely one to forget.

His terrible pass into midfield with the scores level at 2-2 may have just about counted as completed but should never have been played as it immediately ceded possession and sparked the collapse.

He may have been unfortunate to give away the penalty when a shot deflected off his foot into his outstretched hand, but it only compounded the earlier error that a player of his standing should never have made.

Tottenham player ratings vs PSG

Guglielmo Vicario – 5

Pedro Porro – 6

Cristian Romero – 2

Micky van de Ven – 6

Djed Spence (off for Udogie ’84) – 6

Archie Gray (off for Palhinha ’76) – 7

Pape Matar Sarr (off for Odobert ’84) – 4

Lucas Bergvall (off for Kudus ’76) – 7

Rodrigo Bentancur – 6

Richarlison – 7

Randal Kolo Muani (off for Simons ’84) – 9 – Man of the Match

Substitutes

Joao Palhinha (on for Gray ’76) – 6

Mohammed Kudus (on for Bergvall ’76) – 6

Destiny Udogie (on for Spence ’84) – 6

Wilson Odobert (on for Sarr ’84) – 6

Xavi Simons (on for Kolo Muani ’84) – 6

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