Thomas Frank's new Tottenham weapon unleashed and the late financial blow in PSG Super Cup loss

Thomas Frank and his Tottenham team suffered UEFA Super Cup final heartache after a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat against PSG following a 2-2 draw in normal time. Spurs went agonisingly close to winning a second piece of silverware in the space of three months but their French opponents staged a late fightback before eventually prevailing on penalties.

Not many gave Spurs a chance heading into the final considering PSG's outstanding form last season but Frank's men were to cause their opponents some real problems. Richarlison went close to the opening goal midway through the first half as his shot from distance was tipped over by Lucas Chevalier.

The Lilywhites were to get the goal their performance deserved on 39 minutes as Micky van de Ven was on hand to convert from close range after the PSG shot-stopper had tipped Joao Palhinha's effort against the crossbar. It was almost 2-0 on the cusp of half-time as Mohammed Kudus reacted quickest to a Richarlison header but his own headed attempt hit the base of the post.

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Tottenham were to get their second goal minutes after the restart as the unmarked Cristian Romero headed into the far corner of Chevalier's goal after Pedro Porro had whipped in a fantastic free-kick. PSG did up the pressure on Spurs in the closing stages of the game and pulled one back in the 85th minute as Lee Kang-in arrowed the ball into the bottom corner of Guglielmo Vicario's goal.

There was to be a killer blow for Spurs in stoppage time as Goncalo Ramos expertly headed home Ousmane Dembele's cross to send the game to a penalty shootout. It was Nuno Mendes who scored the crucial spot kick to win 4-3 after Van de Ven and Mathys Tel had missed for Tottenham.

Here are five things we spotted during the game at Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy.

Flexible Frank

Frank switched things up in terms of his Tottenham formation to take on PSG. Using a 4-2-3-1 setup in pre-season, just as he did at Brentford last term, the Dane showed his tactical flexibility by opting for a back three against the Champions League holders.

Centre-back Kevin Danso came in to start alongside Romero and Van de Ven, with Porro and Djed Spence utilised as wing-backs. Richarlison started up front and he had support from Kudus and Pape Matar Sarr behind him.

Frank displayed during his time at Brentford that he is willing to use a number of formations to ensure his team gets results. That now looks to be the case at Tottenham with just one set formation clearly a thing of the past.

His tactical decisions certainly worked in Udine as his team caused PSG lots of issues before they eventually ran out of steam.

Solanke wait

Tottenham were given a boost on the eve of the Super Cup final with Dominic Solanke in a position to return to the matchday squad. Featuring in the team's opening friendly of the summer away at Reading, the striker was unable to feature in Tottenham's following games due to an ankle injury.

Amid question marks over an exact return date for Solanke, Frank confirmed that he would be in the playing squad for Wednesday's game in Udine. A huge boost for Tottenham. the ex-Liverpool man was named on the bench as Richarlison got the nod to lead the line.

Frank's decision was not that much of a surprise as his striker had missed valuable match minutes over the summer to build up his fitness. Solanke will be hoping he is in a position to potentially start against Burnley in their Premier League opener on Saturday but Richarlison more than made his case for another start with a very good display.

A new weapon

Some eagle-eyed Tottenham fans got an insight into the team's training schedule last month following a Destiny Udogie social media post. In a video from within the Tottenham dressing room at Hotspur Way, a timetable for the day flashed up on a screen on the wall and many noted that long throw auditions were on the agenda.

It was something Frank used at Brentford to great effect and it was clearly something he wanted to test at Tottenham to give his team a new attacking threat. Many tipped Danso to win the audition given how powerful he is and it didn't come as that much of a surprise when the Austrian lined up to take a long throw in the opening minutes of the PSG Super Cup final.

Danso certainly can launch a ball into a dangerous area in the box and it is something that Tottenham could thrive from this season providing of course that he is in the team.

Set-piece success

One of the notable features of Frank's Brentford team was their ability to score from set-pieces. The Dane may have only been with his Tottenham players since the start of July but his work on the training pitch alongside his coaching staff is already paying off.

The first competitive goal of the Frank Tottenham era came from a set-piece as Van de Ven was on hand to finish after Romero nodded on Vicario's long free-kick and Palhinha had seen a shot tipped against the crossbar. Just one goal from a set-piece wasn't enough, though.

Moments after the restart, Porro swung in a free-kick from midway inside the PSG half and Romero was in acres of space at the back post to head into the far corner of the net. In truth, Chevalier should have done much better with his attempt after getting two hands to the ball.

Tottenham look like they will get plenty of joy from set-pieces over the course of this season and beyond.

Late financial blow

Tottenham's Europa League success last season certainly had its financial benefits as winning the final was worth £10.95million in prize money alone. That figure was on top of the £15.49million they had already secured in prize money in the competition, taking their grand total to £26.5million.

There was to be a financial reward on offer for the winners of Wednesday's Super Cup final as whoever triumphed in Udine would collect £4.3million in prize money. The runners up would get slightly less at £3.4millon.

Tottenham did appear on course to collect the maximum amount but in the end they lost out on £900,000 after PSG's late fightback and penalty shootout triumph. The £3.4million may not seem a lot in comparison to what the team pocketed from last season's Europa League but it could help them out in the transfer market before the month is out.