4 takeaways from Tottenham's spirited defeat to PSG

Ultimately, anything would've been an improvement from the North London Derby for Thomas Frank's Tottenham in Paris.

Their first-ever trip to the Parc des Princes ended in a wild 5-3 defeat, but there was plenty for the under-fire manager to be pleased with from Wednesday's display.

Expecting a victory at the home of the European champions was unrealistic, but Frank's side desperately needed to produce a performance worthy of celebrating after Sunday's humiliation. They did that.

While the defeat dents our chances of securing an automatic spot in the Champions League round of 16, one more victory from our remaining three games should guarantee our place in the knockout playoff round.

Frank's eyes are now peering towards a huge domestic bout with Fulham in N17, but before we look ahead to the Cottagers' visit, let's make a note of some of the key takeaways from Spurs' spirited defeat to PSG.

1. Randal Kolo Muani has arrived

A dead leg and a broken jaw have disrupted the start of Randal Kolo Muani's loan in north London. Not to mention that he arrived at the club on Deadline Day severely undercooked, having endured a far-from-ideal summer schedule.

After appearing at the Club World Cup with Juventus, Kolo Muani didn't know until the final day of the summer window where he'd be playing his football this season.

So, it's taken a little while for the loanee to get up to speed, but a trip to Paris presented the masked forward with the ideal opportunity to announce himself to the Lilywhite fanbase. He'd been overlooked and thrust to the periphery by Luis Enrique in favour of alternative options, and although Kolo Muani was technically facing up against his parent club on Wednesday, it certainly felt as if he was trying to impress an ex-girlfriend.

Frank utilised the Frenchman in tandem with Richarlison up top, and was offered freedom to roam out to the flanks in a bid to supply width. His hold up play was hit and miss, but Kolo Muani's quality nonetheless passes the eye test. He moves with ease, and looks comfortable with the ball at his feet.

Towards the end of the first half, he cushioned a header perfectly across goal for his strike partner to score. After the restart, his first goal for the club put us into the lead for a second time, but we were 4-2 down when he crashed home his emphatic second. Both goals were taken superbly, and it should've become clear by now that Kolo Muani is going to have a huge role to play for Frank during his loan spell.

2. Skipper's nightmare second-half

Cristian Romero struggled to put a foot wrong in the first-half. The skipper snapped into challenges with his usual vigour, and sought to set the tone amid a far more aggressive performance with his trademark defensive forays.

However, after the restart, Romero produced one of his most haphazard 45 minutes in a Spurs shirt, and it contributed heavily to our eventual defeat. Unusually, he let himself down with the ball at his feet.

For PSG's third goal, though, I'm actually going to attribute more blame to Guglielmo Vicario for passing to him in the first place, given the defender's body position upon reception. At least Pape Matar Sarr had an outlet (Rodrigo Bentancur) when Romero passed into him.

Seeking to atone, Romero threw himself into blocks and was eventually punished. His try-hardiness resulted in a PSG penalty that prevented the visitors from staging a dramatic comeback.

It hasn't been a great couple of weeks for the captain since returning from injury, it has to be said.

3. Can't put this one on Frank

Thomas Frank has rightly caught some flak for the way he set up his team on the big occasion in November. Spurs produced the two lowest expected goal hauls of the Premier League season so far against Chelsea and Arsenal, and the manager was a big reason why.

And when the team was announced on Wednesday night, there were plenty of chronically online moaners who expected more of the same.

It wasn't evident exactly how Tottenham would shape up based on the lineup, and, in truth, it was relatively hard to discern during the 90 minutes. But we shouldn't get caught up on configurations. Crucially, there were principles on display that were absent in the two aforementioned London derbies.

Key to Spurs' success for the opening 50 minutes was their intensity and aggression without the ball. There was plenty of man-oriented pressing, with specific assignments meaning our out-of-possession shape was notably fluid. Our diligent effort was a testament to the manager, who made bold selection calls in midfield and better prepared his team (thanks to the personnel he picked) for a direct approach in possession.

Sure, there were times when we lacked width, but Frank sacrificed that in favour of shutting PSG down centrally. Moreover, our young guns in the middle of the park, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, supplied guile when they combined in wide areas, linking up to craft the opening goal. Their performances were particularly encouraging, and, ultimately, Frank's game plan helped us into 1-0 and 2-1 leads.

Conceding five, though, cannot be masqueraded as a positive, no matter how optimistic you may feel from Wednesday's defeat. Passivity on the edge of our box proved fatal again, and PSG's final three goals grew more calamitous from a Spurs perspective with each finish.

4. Elite players do elite things

Sometimes, you've just got to hold your hands up and say you were outdone by moments of genius from some of the world's best players.

This was Vitinha's night, with PSG's maestro at the base of midfield netting his first career hat-trick. While we can complain about the slack Spurs defending for the first two concessions, the quality of Vitinha's finishes cannot be overlooked. The first equaliser felt like a gut-punch before half-time, while his second, three minutes after Kolo Muani restored the away side's lead, set the stage for Spurs' rapid collapse.

He was caught in possession in the build-up to Tottenham's third goal, immediately holding his hand up in apology, and PSG boss Luis Enrique commended his character in the aftermath. Vitinha had the chance to complete his hat-trick from the spot, soon after his error, and he finished superbly from 12 yards, having ditched the stuttering run-up.

The hosts were without Golden Boy Désiré Doué through injury, while Ballon d'Or winner Ousmané Dembélé was limited to a cameo role, but Vitinha stepped up for his team when they desperately needed him. His outstanding exploits last season saw him finish third in the 2025 Ballon d'Or ranking, and Thomas Frank believes the Portuguese is primed to win the award next year.

"The best midfielder in the world," he was labelled by the Dane post-match.