Paris Saint-Germain won the UEFA Super Cup for a second season in a row on Wednesday night with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring for the Champions League winners in the 20th minute with a blasted strike past Marco Bizot in the Villa goal. But Europa League holders Villa’s 17-year-old striker Brian Madjo levelled the scores just before the half-time break.
Just after the hour mark, though, Desire Doue cut inside on his left foot and scored PSG’s second, a goal that ultimately won the match.
The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, Conor O’Neill and Seb Stafford-Bloor break down the key talking points from Wednesday’s game.
Was the world’s most talented player missing from this summer’s World Cup?
Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe all dazzled, but did the 2026 World Cup miss the game’s most talented star in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia? Georgia have never qualified for a World Cup, leaving Kvaratskhelia with a far tougher route to the biggest stage. Here against Aston Villa, he provided a sensational reminder of just what North America missed.
The rolled-down socks, the beautifully balanced dribbling, the whistling ball-striking; when it comes to aesthetics, few players are more thrilling to watch in full flow. Behind that elegant exterior lies a cold ruthlessness, laid bare by his devastating opening goal.
Kvaratskhelia celebrates his opening goal (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Kvaratskhelia possesses a remarkable knack for dribbling at breathtaking pace while simultaneously keeping the ball almost tethered to his feet. It’s a trait that gives him that crucial split-second advantage. Reacting to his sharp infield dart, Villa goalkeeper Marcos Bizot shuffled across his goal, but before he could even set himself, Kvaratskhelia snapped a rasping effort inside the near post.
The Georgian is no luxury player, either. He works tirelessly off the ball too, hunting down Villa defenders as a crucial cog in PSG’s intense counterpress.
His league form probably excludes him from being a genuine Ballon d’Or contender, scoring just eight times in Ligue 1 last season. Instead, he conserves his energy for the bigger occasions, transforming into a creative monster in European competition. With the benefit of a summer off compared to the game’s other superstars, expect another spectacular season from him.
Conor O’Neill
How did Omar Artan perform after his World Cup disappointment?
What a night for Omar Artan. Two months after being denied a United States visa and thereby missing the opportunity to officiate at a World Cup, Artan became the first non-European to referee the UEFA Super Cup.
It was another accolade. Artan was already the first Somalian to take charge of an Africa Cup of Nations game and also the first to be named the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) referee of the year (2025). He’s an official of considerable standing, and this was a stage he had earned on merit.
It was a popular decision by UEFA and has proven a big public relations win. Artan was appointed to this game back in June, while FIFA was still flailing in the wake of their logistical bungle, and both sets of fans cheered him onto the pitch in Salzburg.
Artan took charge of Wednesday’s game (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
He had a good match, too. Super Cups are rarely hostile, and this was no different, but he allowed a flowing game with plenty of physical contact, during which he got the few major decisions correct.
He also enforced a new law at the end of the first half when PSG dallied over a throw-in.
From this season onwards, when referees suspect that a player is delaying a throw-in unnecessarily, they will institute five-second “countdowns”. If the ball is still not in play once it elapses, they will then reverse the decision and award the throw-in to the other team.
We saw this applied at the World Cup. It was with light irony that Omar Artan, the referee who was not allowed to be there, became one of the first officials to enforce it in club football.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Was a new star born on Wednesday night?
Arguably the best centre-back duo in world football were roughed up by a 17-year-old on his competitive debut for Aston Villa.
It is not hyperbole to say Brian Madjo could have scored four or five goals in the first half alone. Two crosses from John McGinn initially were both headed wide by the teenage forward, having been unmarked.
Yet, described as a “physical monster” by club sources, Madjo kept on going. Nothing fazed him — not the occasion or the missed chances. Willian Pacho was soon tasked with marking the 6ft 4in (193cm) striker after Madjo initially peeled onto the smaller centre-back Marquinhos from goalkeeper Marco Bizot’s first long kick.
Even with the greater might of Pacho, Madjo felt like a force of nature. He was secure in possession but could also take the defender away from the ball.
Madjo celebrates his first-half goal (Kerstin Joensson/AFP via Getty Images)
Madjo then curled an effort wide before, eye-catchingly, bustling into the box, shrugging Pacho aside and throwing him onto the floor, and then hitting the wrong side of the post.
The England youth international has long been big for his age, but to contest and dominate his direct marker so comprehensively in the first half was stunning. He is the youngest player to ever play in a Super Cup final at 17 years and 212 days old. If Madjo had started to convert his chances, the potential, from that first-half viewing, felt endless.
At the fifth time of asking, what felt like an inevitability arrived. Remember, all of this happened in the first half — a third exquisite McGinn cross found Madjo at the back post. This time, despite Pacho holding onto him, Madjo got round the back and volleyed into the roof of the net. Villa had equalised, and a player they had fought for so long to bring in provided an incredible moment.
Jacob Tanswell
What next for Aston Villa?
Saturday, August 15: Borussia Monchengladbach (Away), friendly, 2.30pm UK, 9.30am ET
