(Credit: Imago/TNT Sports)

Jack Heath

Wed 13 August 2025 22:22, UK

Ally McCoist was passionately praising the performance of Djed Spence in an act of brilliance against PSG before late heartbreak for Thomas Frank’s side.

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Tottenham put in a resolute defensive performance against the Parisians in the UEFA Super Cup final, drawing 2-2 in normal time but ultimately lost on penalties.

Two set-piece goals put the Lilywhites into the lead as they dug deep to keep the French outfit out for 85 minutes before Kang-in Lee grabbed a goal back.

Super sub Goncalo Ramos then came on to head in a late equaliser, pushing the game to penalties as PSG went on to win.

The dogged performance included some excellent spells of individual brilliance to bring a smile to Thomas Frank’s face despite giving the lead away and losing the game.

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During the second half of the tie, former Rangers striker McCoist was waxing lyrical about a superb piece of marshalling from Spurs left-back Spence as it appeared the Premier League side would comfortably hold onto their lead.

(Credit: TNT Sports)

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In the 68th minute, Ibrahim Mbaye was immediately into the action off the bench, bursting down the right-hand side following a through ball from Achraf Hakimi in a decent amount of space.

The Tottenham defender then galloped back, leaning into the 17-year-old as he stumbled over, knocking the ball out for a goal kick.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario applauded his teammate’s work rate, running over to do a big high five celebration with the Englishman.

(Credit: TNT Sports)

McCoist loved the defensive action, saying on TNT Sports in the 68th minute: “Ahh love it.

I love it!

“That’s just the art of defending at its best, matching the pace and just leaning on him.

“Don’t need to be aggressive, don’t need to fly into the challenge, just get there and lean on the opponent.”

(Credit Imago)

Football Insider verdict

Despite the clever defensive play, the 25-year-old really struggled against a top-class PSG side.

He lost the ball on 12 separate occasions, often stumbling on the ball as he was frequently indecisive going forward.

With Destiny Udogie still a way off first team training, the Englishman has to up his game if he has any chance of keeping the Italian out going forward.

Minutes played97Touches37Accurate passes10/19Possession lost12Tackles3Djed Spence v PSG (Source: Sofascore)

Moreover, there is always the threat of Ben Davies filling in to offer a more experienced and smarter defensive option for Frank.

Against Bayern Munich in a 4-0 battering, the former Nottingham Forest defender struggled with the pace of Kingsley Coman and Michael Olise which doesn’t bode well for carrying over to the high octane Premier League.

Once an outcast under Antonio Conte, the versatile full-back has to be careful not to be dropped by his new manager at Spurs.
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