Mendes clinches Super Cup after stunning PSG comeback
Paris Saint-Germain clinched the UEFA Super Cup for the first time after winning 4-3 on penalties against Tottenham after a superb comeback to draw 2-2 in normal time.
Thomas Frank looked set to mark his first competitive match in charge by winning the trophy thanks to goals from Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero either side of half-time.
However, late goals from substitutes Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos, who scored deep in stoppage time, forced penalties when Spurs again failed to capitalise on an advantage.
Vitinha missed PSG's first penalty, but debutant Lucas Chevalier kept his side in it by denying Van de Ven, and a Mathys Tel miss then opened the door for Nuno Mendes to grab the winner.
Spurs started on the front foot, with Pedro Porro curling a first-minute effort over the crossbar before Richarlison forced Chevalier into a stretching save later in the half.
They found their breakthrough in the 39th minute from a long free-kick. Marquinhos's clearance deflected to Joao Palhinha, who was denied by a reflex save by Chevalier, though Van de Ven was on hand to turn in the rebound.
Spurs almost had a second on the stroke of half-time when an offside Mohammed Kudus glanced a header off the post, but a quick start to the second half saw Romero double their lead, despite Chevalier getting two hands on his shot.
PSG thought it had pulled one back in the 66th minute; Guglielmo Vicario saved Desire Doue's low strike, and, after Fabian Ruiz's rebound was blocked, Bradley Barcola slotted in at the near post, before a belated offside flag went up against the Spaniard.
The Parisiens kept pushing and eventually found a gap in Spurs' resolute defence, with Vitinha laying it off to Lee on the edge of the box, and his low drive nestled into the bottom-right corner.
Luis Enrique's side refused to back down, though, and Ramos got in front of his defender to meet Ousmane Dembele's whipped cross to power a header past Vicario to force penalties.
Again, Spurs started strongly, netting their first two, while Vitinha clipped the woodwork, but they could not hold onto their momentum. Lee once again played a pivotal role, putting PSG 3-2 up in the shootout, and though Porro levelled things up, Mendes rifled his effort into the roof of the net from 12 yards to seal the trophy.
Unlike Spurs, PSG has not had a pre-season and had not played since the Club World Cup final, which it lost 3-0 to Chelsea in mid-July.
However, after a historic season last time out, it would have felt confident ahead of the match, especially given the fact that it had won five of their its matches against English opposition in 2025 prior to this match (L3).
History also seemed to be on it side in this competition, with 11 of the last 12 editions of the Super Cup being won by the previous season's Champions League winners, with the exception being Atletico Madrid in 2018.
Its lack of preparation was clear to see in the first half, though, as it failed to test Vicario with any of its four shots, while it only had seven touches in the opposition box.
In fact, it is only the fifth time in 119 matches under Luis Enrique that PSG has finished the first half with no shots on target, and the first time since September 2024 against Girona.
PSG stepped up its efforts, finally breaking through Spurs' resolute defence with its second attempt on target, but it soon made up for their lack of quality in the final third.
PSG got the job done in the end, though, overcoming a two-goal deficit when trailing as late as the 84th minute for the first time since May 2005, when it drew 2-2 with Sochaux.
Spurs ended their 17-year wait for a trophy with their Europa League triumph in May in one of Ange Postecoglou's final games, and Frank was within touching distance of adding another to their collection in his competitive bow.
Frank is the first manager whose first game in charge of an English club came in the UEFA Super Cup, but Spurs are now just the second English side that failed to win their first-ever appearance in the competition, after north London rivals Arsenal.
Things did not look particularly bright for Spurs prior to kick-off, given they had lost more games than any other Premier League side in 2025 (16), though they looked set to earn a fifth consecutive win in European competition.
Like in the Europa League final, Spurs had to do without the ball for long periods, finishing with 26 percent possession, but unlike on that occasion, they could not hold off the late onslaught as tiredness kicked in at Bluenergy Stadium.
Frank's side had 13 shots overall with five of those on target, all higher than PSG, but it could not turn its early dominance into another piece of silverware.
