Paris St Germain successfully defended their UEFA Super Cup title with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg. The win marks a historic achievement for the French side, which becomes only the third club to retain the trophy, joining the ranks of AC Milan in 1990 and Real Madrid in 2017. The match was officiated by 34-year-old Somalian referee Omar Artan, who made history as the first non-European to oversee the fixture, having previously been denied entry into the United States for the World Cup two months earlier.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the mercurial Georgian winger who enjoyed a summer off and thus suffered no World Cup hangover, opened the scoring for PSG in the 20th minute. He glided into the box, shimmying past Matty Cash before lashing the ball past Aston Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot. Aston Villa, who entered the match without Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, and Emi Martinez, and having sold Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans, struggled against the French champions. Despite the challenges, 17-year-old debutant Brian Madjo proved to be a bright spot. After missing two headers from John McGinn crosses and hitting the post, Madjo equalized on the stroke of half-time by volleying home another McGinn cross, becoming the youngest goalscorer in Super Cup history.
The second half saw Madjo set up a chance for McGinn, which was saved by Matvey Safonov. Ultimately, Desire Doue secured the win for PSG on the hour mark. Doue raced onto a ball from Ousmane Dembele, cut inside, and finished past Bizot. A VAR check confirmed the goal was onside, despite an initial flag. This victory, occurring 74 days after PSG beat Arsenal on penalties to win the Champions League, left Unai Emery still searching for his first Super Cup win after four attempts. The event also saw news regarding Tottenham's James Maddison, who was denied a penalty against Leeds, with the Premier League issuing a statement explaining the decision, alongside ongoing speculation regarding where the summer's biggest free agents will sign.
