Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has admitted his side were ‘very lucky’ to win the Super Cup on penalties against Tottenham.
Spurs dominated the French giants for the majority of Thomas Frank’s first competitive match in charge of the club, seizing full control of the contest thanks to goals from Micky van de Ven and newly-appointed captain Cristian Romero.
But PSG staged a dramatic late comeback in Italy after second-half substitutes Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos netted to force a penalty shootout, which the Ligue 1 champions won 4-3 following misses from Van de Ven and Mathys Tel.
Enrique gave a brutally honest verdict of his side’s performance after the match, admitting PSG were ‘very lucky’ and that Tottenham deserved to lift the trophy.
‘For 80 minutes, we didn’t deserve that,’ he confessed. ‘I think Tottenham deserved winning the match because we can feel they were in form and can feel they have been training for six weeks.
‘They played a great match and we have only been training for six days. Sometimes football is unfair and I have to say we were very lucky in the last 10 minutes to score two goals.
Luis Enrique has admitted his PSG side were ‘very lucky’ to win the Super Cup against Spurs
Tottenham suffered a heartbreaking defeat on penalties, despite leading 2-0 in the game
Thomas Frank came agonisingly close to silverware in his first competitive match for Spurs
‘I have to say my players had faith until the last minute like our supporters but football is unpredictable and in that sense I have to say we were very lucky.’
PSG’s lack of training ahead of the new campaign occurred as a result of their participation at the inaugural Club World Cup.
The Paris outfit suffered a 3-0 defeat by Chelsea in the final, which was staged in the United States only one month ago.
Asked whether a lack of preseason training affected their performance in the Super Cup, Enrique replied: ‘Absolutely, from the first minute when the players touched the ball, when the players played without having the time to think about where to pass.
‘Yes – a lot of unprecise passes and it’s difficult to play the way you want to play if you don’t train. I have to say it was like a miracle (to win).’
After the match, TNT Sports pundit Glenn Hoddle claimed Spurs can take plenty of positives from the match, despite losing in a heartbreaking manner on penalties.
The Tottenham legend, who like Enrique believed Frank’s side were superior to PSG, said: ‘(Spurs_ more than held their own, they were the better team by far. I think Luis Enrique actually sort of apologised in a way when he went up to Thomas Frank at the end there.
‘For me, when they analyse the performance, that will give them so much belief going into the Champions League. Playing against this great side that have won the Champions League, “we went toe-to-toe and more, and over 90 minutes we were the better team”.
Enrique confessed that Spurs deserved to win, claiming PSG’s comeback was ‘like a miracle’
Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle urged his old side to take positives from the Super Cup defeat
‘The substitutions made the difference but at the end of the day they have got a Champions League to play and I think that’s a template.
‘The way they played there, don’t be surprised if they play Liverpool, if they play Manchester City, if they play Arsenal – that’s a template to play in the Champions League and maybe away from home.
‘That is something they will really grasp. They will look at that and analyse and say “we were the better team”.
‘So that’s a template now to go on the front foot and go toe-to-toe with these teams. That is a massive performance from Tottenham tonight from a manager’s point-of-view.
‘Yes it’s emotional and disappointing because you are 2-0 up with 10 minutes to go and you’ve lost the trophy, but at the end of the day I think it’s a real positive night for Tottenham.’
