Désiré Doué strike settles UEFA Super Cup as PSG beat Aston Villa 2-1 in Salzburg
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg on 12 August 2026, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opening on 20 minutes, Brian Madjo levelling on 45 and Désiré Doué scoring the decisive goal on 62 after a VAR review.
Luis Enrique said ahead of the match: "doesn’t matter what sport he is playing – football, tennis, padel or parchis, a board game – he wants to win every game, all the time." PSG, the tournament’s back-to-back Champions League winners, added the Super Cup to recent continental success after victories in Munich and Budapest three months earlier. The contest in Salzburg featured a partisan section of around 6,000 Aston Villa supporters who created a lively build-up.
Villa handed Brian Madjo his full debut and generated big cheers for Unai Emery on the stadium screens and for new signing João Gomes, the latter signed for £38m; Madjo had joined from Metz for £10m and was cleared to play after Villa won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Only five players from Villa’s win over Freiburg started here, with Emi Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins still on holiday, and Boubacar Kamara making his first start since his knee injury sustained in January against Tottenham.
The game’s first goal arrived on 20 minutes when Kvaratskhelia jinked inside Matty Cash and struck into the top-left corner at Marco Bizot’s near post; earlier in the move Madjo’s loose control allowed Vitinha to regain possession and feed Désiré Doué. Kvaratskhelia celebrated by blowing a kiss to a nearby television camera. Six minutes later PSG went close to a second as Nuno Mendes’ run and flipped pass from Kvaratskhelia produced a cutback that eluded four red-and-blue shirts.
Madjo fashioned several openings from John McGinn crosses in the first half before levelling with a left-foot volley on the stroke of half-time, meeting McGinn’s flighted delivery to beat Matvey Safonov despite Willian Pacho holding him; Madjo had also scored in pre-season against Walsall, Real Sociedad and Indonesia All Stars and only João Pedro had netted more in pre-season. Earlier in the half Kamara had pushed a shot wide while Madjo had miscued a free header and overhit an effort after George Hemmings got the better of Achraf Hakimi.
Ousmane Dembélé replaced Maghnes Akliouche at half-time; PSG’s starting eleven was missing only Fabián Ruiz compared with the team that beat Arsenal in Budapest in May, and the Spanish World Cup winner later came on for João Neves. Villa tested Safonov early in the second period and João Neves released Dembélé, who was stopped by Bizot, but PSG retook the lead on 62 minutes when Dembélé’s pass into the right channel exposed an imperfect offside line. Doué’s finish was initially ruled out, but Omar Artan, the Somali referee handed the game by Uefa after being denied entry to the US to officiate at the World Cup, awarded the goal after VAR replays showed Matty Cash had played Doué onside.
Villa continued to threaten late on: Warren Zaïre-Emery produced a block to deny João Gomes what was described as a near-certain debut goal, Safonov saved a strike from Hemmings, and substitutes Alysson and Tammy Abraham came close to combining effectively but Abraham elected not to gamble in the box, a decision that frustrated Emery. Several further moments tested both goalkeepers before the final whistle.
PSG lifted the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg to add to their recent Champions League successes in Munich and Budapest three months earlier; the result raises the question posed in the build-up about whether a three-peat in Madrid in May could follow.