Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said his side "didn't deserve" to win the UEFA Super Cup after they produced a dramatic late rally to beat Tottenham Hotspur in a penalty shootout on Wednesday.
Nuno Mendes converted the clinching spot kick in the shootout to complete a PSG comeback that looked unlikely when Tottenham held a 2-0 lead in the 85th minute of regulation in the annual match between the most recent winners of the Champions League and Europa League.
And Luis Enrique said the contrasting fitness levels of the two teams was evident, with his side having only just resumed training following their run to the final of the Club World Cup last month.
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"For 80 minutes we didn't deserve that, I think Tottenham deserved to win the match because they were in form, they were training for six weeks and they played a great match," Luis Enrique told TNT Sports.
"We have been training only for six days but sometimes football is unfair. I have to say we were very lucky in the last 10 minutes that we could score two goals."
Lee Kang-in gave PSG hope by reducing the deficit with a fierce shot into the bottom corner and fellow substitute Gonçalo Ramos grabbed an equalizer in the fourth minute of stoppage time to make it 2-2 at Stadio Friuli in Udine.
Even then, Tottenham moved into position to pull off an upset by taking a 2-0 lead in the shootout after Vitinha's first-up miss for PSG. However, Micky van de Ven and Mathys Tel failed from the spot for Spurs and PSG scored four penalties in a row, the last of which was slammed home by Mendes.
"My players had faith until the last minute, like our supporters," Luis Enique said.
It was quite the debut for Lucas Chevalier, a goalkeeper who has just joined from Lille and taken over as first choice at PSG from Gianluigi Donnarumma -- regarded by many as the world's best goalie.
Chevalier was unlucky in conceding Tottenham's opening goal in the 39th, tipping Joao Palhinha's shot onto the crossbar only for Van de Ven to show quick reactions and prod home.
He was to blame, though, for the second after failing to keep out a header from newly appointed Tottenham captain Cristian Romero in the 48th.
Chevalier finished the evening by saving a penalty by Van de Ven in the shootout, a match tiebreaker in which Donnarumma often thrives. The Italian might have been watching from home, having not traveled to Italy on Tuesday before announcing he'd be leaving PSG.
"It shows a big personality, which is so important to have if you want to stay at a club like PSG because there's a lot of pressure around us," Enrique said. "But I'm very happy for him because it shows a lot of personality."
Added PSG midfielder Vitinha: "That's really the definition of team because once someone fails you have to help your colleague get back up and we still won. And that's really incredible because on another day someone else will fail and someone will step up."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.