Paris Saint-Germain retained the UEFA Super Cup with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Salzburg’s Red Bull Arena on Wednesday, Désiré Doué’s second-half winner settling a final that also produced a piece of history for 17-year-old Brian Madjo. The official PSG match report confirmed the result and the scoring order.
The French champions arrived in Austria as back-to-back Champions League winners, having beaten an Arsenal side that has since added Bruno Guimarães in Budapest in May, while Villa earned their place by lifting the Europa League against Freiburg in Istanbul, as the club’s official match report detailed. Villa did so without Emiliano Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins, who stayed on extended leave after the World Cup, where Watkins and Konsa helped England take bronze and Martínez reached the final with Argentina.
Kvaratskhelia strikes before Madjo’s late reply
PSG controlled the opening exchanges without finding a way through, Vitinha dragging a shot wide and Boubacar Kamara answering at the other end. The breakthrough arrived in the 20th minute: Marco Bizot pushed away Doué’s effort, and the rebound dropped for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who lashed in from the left side of the area. Nuno Mendes then went close with a shot and a dangerous cross as the holders pressed for a second.
Villa’s response was built around Madjo and John McGinn’s deliveries. The teenager headed wide from a McGinn cross, curled an effort off target, put another header past the post and saw Kamara’s header saved by Matvey Safonov. Madjo then struck the post after another save from the PSG goalkeeper, and he finally found the net on the stroke of half-time, converting McGinn’s cross at point-blank range to become the youngest scorer in Super Cup history.
Doué’s winner survives a VAR review
Luis Enrique changed the game at the interval, sending on Ousmane Dembélé for Maghnes Akliouche, who had been making his PSG debut. Villa started the second half brightly, McGinn forcing Safonov into a save, but the decisive moment came in the 61st minute when Dembélé released Doué behind the defence and the midfielder beat Bizot with a low finish. The goal was initially ruled out before referee Omar Artan overturned the decision after a VAR review.
Villa kept pushing after the goal. Safonov denied Hemmings from close range, Warren Zaïre-Emery produced a last-ditch sliding tackle to block João Gomes, and Emiliano Buendia headed wide in added time. Madjo had already hit the post in the first half, and this time there was no equaliser.
PSG join Milan and Real Madrid in retaining the trophy
The win gives PSG a second Super Cup and makes them only the third club to retain the trophy, after AC Milan in 1989-90 and Real Madrid in 2016-17. Around 7,000 travelling Parisian supporters celebrated inside the stadium, and PSG now turn to the defence of their Ligue 1 crown, while Villa’s attention shifts to the Premier League season.
Emery said his side could feel proud of what they produced against the European champions, while making clear that work remains. With Martínez, Konsa and Watkins due back and Madjo’s Salzburg performance as evidence of the talent coming through, Villa left Austria with more encouragement than a defeat usually allows.
