Désiré Doué decided the PSG vs Aston Villa final, shaping both Paris Saint-Germain goals. Désiré Doué set up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and scored the winner in PSG’s 2-1 regulation-time victory over Aston Villa at Stadion Salzburg. After PSG’s second star was secured in Budapest, Luis Enrique’s side added another distinction. Only AC Milan and Real Madrid had previously kept the Super Cup for a second consecutive year.
The opening goal came in the 20th minute. Doué released Kvaratskhelia, who moved inside and drove a right-footed finish beyond Marco Bizot. PSG had more of the ball, but the lead didn’t settle the game. Villa’s direct deliveries kept Matvei Safonov and his defense occupied as the first half developed.
Brian Madjo twice headed wide before striking the post in the 44th minute. One minute later, he met John McGinn’s cross with a left-footed finish to send the teams into halftime at 1-1. Madjo was 17 years, 212 days old, the youngest Super Cup starter on record and its youngest scorer. Villa had earned its place in Salzburg through Aston Villa’s Europa League title, and its teenage forward gave PSG a clear measure of that attacking threat.
Luis Enrique changed PSG’s attack at halftime, replacing Maghnes Akliouche with Ousmane Dembélé. The substitution produced the winning combination in the 61st minute. Dembélé played Doué through, Doué finished past Bizot, and an initial offside decision was changed after VAR established that PSG’s No. 14 had been onside.
Villa still generated the larger volume of chances. Villa took 15 shots to PSG’s 11, though PSG put five on target to Villa’s four. Safonov stopped George Hemmings shortly after the winner, and a later penalty check ended with no award after Warren Zaïre-Emery blocked João Gomes’s effort. PSG finished with 56 percent possession and 90 percent passing accuracy, then protected the lead through six minutes of added time.
Doué’s final leaves PSG in rare company
Doué was named UEFA’s Player of the Match after pairing his first-half assist with the winning goal. “Our mindset is to always win and to be as competitive as possible,” he said afterward. PSG now has two Super Cups, both won in successive seasons, while Luis Enrique has three as a coach after his 2015 title with Barcelona and the two with Paris.
Villa left with more attempts and the game’s record-setting scorer, but without the trophy it last won in 1982. Unai Emery introduced Tammy Abraham, Ross Barkley and Tyrone Mings as his team searched for a second equalizer. Villa didn’t turn its late pressure into another goal. “I am very proud of the players,” Emery said after his fourth Super Cup defeat as a coach.
The UEFA Super Cup was refereed by a non-European official for the first time, with Somalia’s Omar Artan in charge. The match produced no penalties or red cards. Villa received three player cautions and one staff caution, while PSG received none. VAR upheld the two no-penalty outcomes and corrected the offside decision on Doué’s goal, the only on-field call it changed.
Villa’s 15 attempts reflected a final that PSG didn’t control completely. PSG completed the two combinations that set the score: Doué to Kvaratskhelia for the opener, then Dembélé to Doué for the goal that kept the trophy in Parisian hands.
