Paris Saint-Germain 5-3 Tottenham Hotspur: Vitinha hat-trick leads PSG to victory in thriller | OneFootball

PSG edged a chaotic eight-goal showdown at the Parc des Princes and returned to winning ways in the Champions League with a 5-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Vitinha stole the show with his first senior hat-trick, and second-half goals by Fabián Ruiz and Willian Pacho propelled Les Parisiens to second in the league phase, despite Lucas Hernández’s red card.

Randal Kolo Muani got off the mark for Spurs, netting twice against his parent club, and Richarlison was among the goals too, but the first UCL defeat of the season left them 16th in the standings.

As it happened

Spurs made five changes from their 4-1 North London derby defeat, but it was PSG who started brighter. Ruiz tried his luck from distance, and his long-range strike fizzed past the left post.

Eighteen-year-old Quentin Ndjantou made his first Champions League start for Luis Enrique’s team and contributed to PSG’s next chance, finding Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the edge of the box. The Georgian tried to curl his shot into the top corner, but narrowly missed the target.

As is so often the case, Vitinha was PSG’s inventive spark and lifted a beautifully disguised ball in behind Spurs’ back line, but Guglielmo Vicario punched the ball away before Warren Zaïre-Emery could apply the header.

The hosts dominated possession in the first half and looked more likely to score. However, just like in the Supercup match in August, it was first blood to Tottenham in the 35th minute.

Lucas Bergvall’s neat footwork gave Archie Gray a pocket of space on the left side of the box, and the Englishman floated a ball to the back post towards Kolo Muani. The PSG-owned player headed the ball across, where an unmarked Richarlison nodded into the empty corner – another goal for Tottenham’s forward after the weekend screamer.

PSG’s reply came 10 minutes later through their third-place Ballon d’Or finisher. Tottenham briefly switched off at a corner, and Ndjantou picked out Vitinha on the edge of the box with a quickly taken set piece. The Portuguese international hammered a powerful first-time strike off the crossbar and beyond Vicario’s reach, levelling the game with his side’s first shot on target.

Luis Enrique replaced Nuno Mendes with Lucas Hernández at halftime and descended from the stands to the touchline, but his side were soon behind again. Richarlison met Pedro Porro’s corner on the back post, flicking it down to Gray, who got to the ball ahead of Lucas Chevalier. PSG dealt with Gray’s attempt to clear the ball off the line, but there was nothing they could do about Kolo Muani’s powerful follow-up, and Spurs restored their lead in the 50th minute.

Les Parisiens were back attacking, Zaïre-Emery picking out Bradley Barcola, who charged into the box and headed way over the bar.

To the dismay of the travelling fans, Tottenham’s lead lasted just three minutes as Vitinha got on the scoresheet again. Kvaratskhelia offloaded the ball to the Portuguese on the edge of the box, and he unleashed a strike into the far corner, leaving Vicario with no chance. Tottenham kept their attacks too, and Rodrigo Bentancur was the latest to strike off target from a distance.

However, there was nothing Thomas Frank’s side could do once the holders gear changed, and in no time PSG took the lead. Spurs took too long on the edge of their own box and Hernández pounced, stealing the ball from Pape Sarr. It broke to João Neves, whose clever back-heel flick sent Ruiz through onside, and the Spaniard finished past Vicario with calm precision in the 59th minute.

There was a growing authority about PSG now, and it became 4-2 just six minutes later. Substitute Lee Kang-in’s corner caused havoc in Spurs’ box and Pacho reacted first in the scramble, guiding a composed finish into the corner with Vicario rooted to the spot.

The European champions were soon running riot, with Lee forcing Vicario into a sharp save as he struck from the edge of the box into the bottom right-hand corner.

And suddenly, a rare error from Vitinha handed Spurs a lifeline, the midfielder briefly going from hero to villain. He gave the ball away to Bentancur, who offloaded it to Kolo Muani. The Frenchman squeezed past Hernández and Pacho in the box before finishing calmly into the bottom corner past Chevalier, reducing the deficit to one goal in the 72nd minute.

However, despite the mistake, the night still belonged to the Portuguese maestro, who immediately redeemed himself and ultimately outshone Kolo Muani’s efforts. Vitinha was the one who earned the penalty after his shot from the edge of the box struck Cristian Romero’s outstretched arm.

Having already scored twice, he stepped up looking for his first senior career hat-trick. Known for his traditionally slow run-up, Vitinha surprised everyone with a quicker approach and calmly sent Vicario the wrong way, restoring PSG’s two-goal cushion with fifteen minutes remaining.

Spurs didn’t give up and kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Porro’s left-footed strike took a wicked deflection off Hernández, forcing Chevalier to tip it over the bar for a corner.

Substitute Wilson Odobert was the latest PSG academy player to face his former club. He soon cut inside and aimed for the bottom corner, but his effort brushed the side netting.

While there were no more goals, the night continued to grow more eventful. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé made his return from a calf injury with 10 minutes to play, before Hernández was shown a straight red card for elbowing substitute Xavi Simons in the face in what was a clear dismissal.

Porro sent the resulting free kick over the bar, as the game drew to a close. A 5-3 victory for the holders of the Champions League (their second over Spurs this season) and a night to remember for captain Marquinhos on his 500th game with the club.

The line-ups

PSG: Chevalier, Zaïre-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Neves, Vitinha, Ruiz; Barcola, Ndjantou, Kvaratskhelia