PSG TOP ASTON VILLA IN SALZBURG TO SUCCESSFULLY RETAIN UEFA SUPER CUP

 

Marquinhos (C) lifts the trophy with his teammates after PSG defeated Aston Villa to win the UEFA Super Cup at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria, August 12, 2026. /VCG

Champions League titleholder Paris Saint-Germain rubber-stamped its status as Europe's top club after edging Europa League winner Aston Villa 2-1 in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, Austria, on Wednesday.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue found the net, sandwiched around a debut goal for Villa teenager Brian Madjo, as the Parisians retained the trophy they first won 12 months ago against another Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur.

Ahead of the start of their respective domestic campaigns, both coaches named relatively strong squads for this match.

PSG's starting lineup featured nine players that lifted the Champions League trophy against Arsenal in May, including Vitinha, Joao Neves and captain Marquinhos.

French left-back Lucas Digne, who officially signed a deal with the Parisians on Sunday, was on the bench against his former club.

Aston Villa rested World Cup campaigners Ezri Konsa, Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins, but coach Unai Emery handed debuts to midfielder Joao Gomes and striker Madjo.

Midfielder Boubacar Kamara also started for the first time since suffering a serious knee injury in January.

PSG boss Luis Enrique sent on World Cup winner Fabian Ruiz with a quarter of an hour remaining, helping PSG shore up the center of the pitch as Villa hunted for an equalizer.

The English side's best chance came inside the final 10 minutes but Tammy Abraham was, by the slimmest of margins, unable to reach Alysson's cutback inside the six-yard box.

The Qatar-backed Ligue 1 winner managed to hold on and enjoy a triumphant start to the new season, which they hope will end with a third consecutive UEFA Champions League crown.

- Source(s): AFP

GREATEST WINGERS IN FOOTBALL

 

LIVERPOOL MAY HAVE ALREADY FOUND THEIR MOHAMED SALAH REPLACEMENT

There is a standout candidate being tipped to replace the Egyptian King

GOODBYE: MOHAMMED SALAH
REUTERS

Liverpool may have already found their replacement for Mohammed Salah.

The Egyptian star announced on Tuesday that this season will be his last for the Reds, calling time on a trophy-laden nine-year spell on Merseyside.

Salah will hope to add to his bursting trophy cabinet during his final months at the club, having already picked up two Premier League winners' medals and lifted the Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

It has been reported that talks between Liverpool and Salah over a summer exit have been ongoing for months, with the idea of cutting his contract short first discussed in December.

Salah signed a new two-year deal last summer, but has forfeited the final 12 months - valued at around £20million - to be allowed to leave Anfield on a free transfer.

It has allowed Liverpool to begin casting their eye over potential replacements, and one name is ringing louder than others.

Yan Diomande is the favourite with the bookmakers to be Salah's replacement at Anfield.

The RB Leipzig star has been attracting interest from Europe's top clubs after a stellar first season in the Bundesliga, which has seen him rise to prominence after making his breakthrough with Leganes in La Liga.

Premier League pair Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen are joint-second in the market, followed closely by Tottenham duo Dejan Kulusevski and Mohamed Kudus, and Brighton's Yankuba Minteh.

The cheapest option may prove to be Harry Wilson, who left Liverpool to join Fulham and is currently set to be a free agent in the summer. Much like Salah, Christian Pulisic left Chelsea to prove his worth elsewhere and is now an attractive option at AC Milan.

Perhaps more eye-catching options include Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, both of Paris Saint-Germain, while Rodrygo has regularly been tipped to leave Real Madrid.

Mohamed Salah replacement odds

Yan Diomande: 3/1

Anthony Gordon: 4/1

Jarrod Bowen: 4/1

Dejan Kulusevski: 5/1

Mohamed Kudus: 5/1

Harry Wilson: 5/1

Yankuba Minteh: 5/1

Christian Pulisic: 7/1

Rodrygo: 8/1

Kenan Yildiz: 8/1

Michael Olise: 10/1

Desire Doue: 12/1

Bradley Barcola: 12/1

(Odds via BettingLounge, subject to change.)

- ALEX YOUNG

FULL PSG SQUAD TO TAKE ON ARSENAL IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE S MI-FINAL REVEALED

Senny Mayulu, Bradley Barcola and Warren Zaire Emery walk on the pitch for a Paris Saint-Germain training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League 2024/25 semi final match at Emirates Stadium. (Image: Aurelien Meunier - PSG/PSG via Getty Images)

The latest Arsenal news as the Gunners host PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium.

Paris Saint-Germain have revealed their full 22-man squad for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal.

The Gunners host the French Champions at the Emirates Stadium tonight (Tuesday, 8pm kick-off) as both teams look to take an advantage into the second leg of the tie. A final in Munich, Germany against either Barcelona or Inter await the winners.

For Arsenal, they will be hoping for a repeat of the quarter-final against Real Madrid. Mikel Arteta ’s men took a 3-0 lead into the second leg, with the side completing the job at the Bernabeu with a 5-1 aggregate score.

Ahead of the game, PSG have been handed a clean bill of health in terms of injuries. There are no notable absentees for the squad selected by manager Luis Enrique.

Included in the 22-man list are three goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders and five forwards.

Here is a look at the full squad that has been selected by the club, along with the squad numbers they will be wearing for the game.

Full PSG squad vs Arsenal

1 Gianluigi Donnarumma

2 Achraf Hakimi

3 Presnel Kimpembe

5 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

8 Fabian Ruiz

9 Goncalo Ramos

10 Ousmane Dembele

14 Desire Doue

17 Vitinha

19 Lee Kang-In

21 Lucas Hernandez

24 Senny Mayulu

25 Nuno Mendes

29 Bradley Barcola

33 Warren Zaire-Emery

35 Lucas Beraldo

39 Matvey Safonov

49 Ibrahim Mbaye

51 Willian Pacho

80 Arnau Tenas

87 Joao Neves

- Amie Wilson

KHVICHA KVARATSKHELIA GENIUS HELPS GIVE PSG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE EDGE AGAINST ASTON VILLA

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored one of the great Champions League goals as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

PSG beat Aston Villa in Champions League match
AFP

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored one of the great Champions League goals as Paris Saint-Germain came from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday. Morgan Rogers had given Villa a 35th-minute lead at the Parc des Princes to silence the home fans, but PSG were quickly back level through a fine strike by Desire Doue. Kvaratskhelia then took centre stage with a stunning effort on 49 minutes, before Nuno Mendes added a crucial third in stoppage time, giving PSG a significant two-goal cushion to take into the return in Birmingham next Tuesday.

Having eliminated Liverpool in the last 16, Luis Enrique's team are now in a very strong position to reach the semi-finals for the second season running.

"We are happy with this result but we have to keep going because there is the second game and the job is not finished," Kvaratskhelia told broadcaster Canal Plus, before claiming he could not clearly recall his sublime goal.

"It was was OK. I didn't remember it exactly but now I will check inside so I will see if it was quite good."

Villa, who had Prince William in the Paris crowd backing them along with his son George, will need to produce a memorable fightback at home if they are to make the last four of Europe's elite club competition for the first time since they lifted the trophy in 1982.

"We managed to get the opening goal which is about the hardest thing to do, but we were up against a great team. You have to admit that," Lucas Digne told Canal Plus.

"They produced moments of brilliance. Now we have to do the job in the return. We will have to open up a bit more but it is still doable."

Villa can perhaps take inspiration from what happened the last time their coach Unai Emery faced Luis Enrique in the Champions League.

Back in 2017, Emery's PSG thumped Barcelona 4-0 at home in the first leg of a last-16 tie, only to collapse at the Camp Nou and lose 6-1 to Luis Enrique's Catalans.

The latter, now hoping to lead PSG to their first Champions League crown, was without suspended skipper Marquinhos here and also left Bradley Barcola on the bench for the first time in this European campaign.

That meant Doue and Kvaratskhelia completed the home attack along with leading scorer Ousmane Dembele.

Villa came into this game on a run of seven straight wins in all competitions, as Marco Asensio, on loan from PSG, started as a substitute against his parent club.

The visitors were happy to sit back and the first half took place almost exclusively in their half, with Dembele setting the tone from a sizzling early strike which was tipped over by Emiliano Martinez.

The Argentinian goalkeeper, a hero for his country in the 2022 World Cup final against France, was loudly jeered throughout and had a busy night.

However, Villa snatched the lead against the run of play in the 35th minute.

Captain John McGinn robbed Mendes just inside the Villa half and picked out Marcus Rashford on the left. He then slipped in Youri Tielemans whose ball across the face of goal left Rogers with an easy finish.

PSG hit back quickly, with Martinez nearly spilling a Doue shot over the line before the equaliser came from the resulting corner.

The hosts worked the ball from right to left to Doue, who stepped towards the penalty area before curling a wonderful shot beyond Martinez into the far corner.

It was the latest moment of magic from the 19-year-old, who recently won his first France cap, but his strike was eclipsed by that of Kvaratskhelia as the Georgian put PSG ahead four minutes after half-time.

Emery replaced Matty Cash at half-time with the right-back having been booked for a foul on Kvaratskhelia.

Axel Disasi came on but had no answer as Kvaratskhelia was released on the left by Fabian Ruiz and advanced into the box.

The former Napoli winger mesmerised Disasi as he rolled his studs over the ball before smashing a thunderous shot past Martinez, in off the near post.

Villa sent on a raft of substitutes including Asensio as they tried to find a way back into the game, while Achraf Hakimi had an effort disallowed for the hosts.

Dembele then released Mendes to round Martinez and make it 3-1 in stoppage time, leaving PSG with one foot in the semi-finals. 

- Agence France-Presse