Tottenham Hotspurs Football Newsletter

It is a daunting task facing Thomas Frank as he takes charge of Tottenham in Europe for the first time.

His side face Paris Saint-Germain in Udine on Wednesday in the UEFA Super Cup in what is a major test just three days before the start of the Premier League season.

PSG knocked out Liverpool and Arsenal before thrashing Inter Milan in the Champions League final last season.

However, it is a month since PSG were last in action, losing 3-0 to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final, and so Spurs should be significantly sharper than their opponents tonight.

Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 to win the Club World Cup

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That Chelsea performance will also offer encouragement to Spurs that PSG can be caused real problems.

Here are three lessons Spurs can learn from that Club World Cup final…

Start fast and win early exchanges

Enzo Maresca made no secret of Chelsea’s desire to unsettle PSG in the early stages.

“I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes and the message before the game was to make them understand that we are here to win the game,” Maresca said.

“The idea was to go man-to-man. PSG are so good if you give them time you will struggle. You have to press them intensely.”

Spurs will not be able to press PSG man-to-man for 90 minutes but they can lay down an early marker against a team who are likely to be lacking sharpness.

Chelsea exposed some weaknesses in the PSG team

Getty Images

It will require braveness, with PSG having the technical ability to play through that press. Spurs, though, have the energy in midfield and attack to make it uncomfortable.



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