Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday at Salzburg Stadium in Austria, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opening the scoring in the 20th minute and Desire Doue adding a second-half winner in the 61st minute to secure the club's second consecutive Super Cup title.
PSG retains UEFA Super Cup with 2-1 win over Aston Villa in Salzburg
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday at Salzburg Stadium in Austria, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opening the scoring in the 20th minute and Desire Doue adding a second-half winner in the 61st minute to secure the club's second consecutive Super Cup title.
The annual match is contested between the most recent Champions League and Europa League winners. PSG, holders of the Champions League title for a second successive year, faced Villa, who had won the Europa League by defeating Freiburg 3-0 in the final, according to Al Jazeera.
Kvaratskhelia's powerfully struck opener gave PSG an early advantage, but 17-year-old Brian Madjo equalised with a volley on the stroke of halftime. According to Al Jazeera, Madjo was making his competitive debut for Villa days after receiving approval to play following a dispute with FIFA over his registration, and became the youngest player to start and score in a UEFA Super Cup final.
Doue restored PSG's lead in the 61st minute, finishing after running onto a pass from Ousmane Dembele. According to Al Jazeera, the goal was initially disallowed for offside before a video review determined that Matty Cash had marginally played Doue onside.
With the victory, PSG became the first club to retain the Super Cup since Real Madrid won it in both 2016 and 2017, according to multiple sources. Al Jazeera described the trophy as the first of a possible six this season for PSG.
The match was refereed by Omar Artan, a Somali official. According to Al Jazeera, Artan was barred by the United States from officiating at the FIFA World Cup shortly before the tournament began, with US officials citing alleged connections to 'terrorist' organisations without providing proof. Al Jazeera reported that UEFA responded by selecting Artan — described as the best referee in Africa last season — to take charge of the Super Cup, characterising it as a power play by European football's governing body amid growing tensions with FIFA. Artan became the first non-European referee to officiate the Super Cup and issued three yellow cards, all to Villa players.
According to Al Jazeera, the friction between UEFA and FIFA has grown further, with UEFA leading efforts to remove Gianni Infantino from the FIFA presidency in connection with his recently abandoned plan to sell an interest in the World Cup.
Prior to the match, Villa had sold former PSG player Lucas Digne back to the French club for a reported fee of 10 million euros, according to Al Jazeera. Key Villa midfielders Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans had also departed in the off-season, per the same source.
- Neither Aston Villa nor PSG's coaching staff or players are quoted in any of the sources responding to the match result.
- Omar Artan's own response to his selection for the Super Cup or to the US barring decision is not included in any source.
- FIFA's official response to UEFA's appointment of Artan is not established by any source.
- The full details of the FIFA registration dispute involving Brian Madjo are not explained in any source.
- The specific nature of the alleged 'terrorist' connections cited by US officials against Artan is not established; no proof is quoted or described.
- The final outcome of the broader UEFA-FIFA dispute over Infantino's presidency is not resolved in any source.
- Aston Villa's response or reaction to the refereeing decisions, including the VAR review, is not reported in any source.
- The Japan Times — original — by The Japan Times
- Al Jazeera English — by Al Jazeera Staff
- Al Jazeera English — by Alexander Hoad
- Al Jazeera English — by Kevin Hand
Read the original at The Japan Times