FULL TROPHY PRESENTATION 🏆 | PSG RETAIN UEFA SUPER CUP AFTER DEFEATING ASTON VILLA

 

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

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE V EUROPA LEAGUE: PSG FACE ASTON VILLA IN SUPER CUP

The UEFA Super Cup marks the beginning of competitive football for the 2026/27 season

It's champions v champions in the UEFA Super Cup
AFP

Dubai: Paris Saint-Germain will aim to retain their UEFA Super Cup title as they face Aston Villa on Wednesday 12 August at Stadion Salzburg in the traditional opening clash of the European season.

After beating Tottenham on penalties in the 2025 UEFA Super Cup, the French champions secured their place in this year’s final by winning the Champions League for a second consecutive season, beating Arsenal in the final.

Now, having gone back-to-back in Europe’s premier club competition, they find themselves facing another north London side in the Super Cup final.

PSG won the 2025 Champions League while Villa won the Europa League
AFP

Aston Villa on the other hand, are looking for a second trophy in quick succession after their 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final ended a 30-year trophy drought.

How to watch

For fans in the UAE, the 2026 UEFA Super Cup between PSG and Aston Villa will be available live on beIN Sports, which holds the exclusive rights to UEFA’s club competitions across the MENA region through 2027.

Fans can watch via the beIN Sports TV channels or stream the match through the beIN SPORTS CONNECT service, with the exact channel listed on beIN’s TV guide.

PSG team news

Fabian Ruiz, Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lucas Hernandez were handed extended time off after the World Cup, meaning they missed both of PSG’s pre-season friendlies.

The group has now returned to first-team training this week and travelled with the squad to Austria, giving Luis Enrique a full complement of players to choose from.

PSG's World Cup winner Fabian Ruiz will be available for selection
AFP-CARL RECINE

It remains to be seen whether Enrique will hand the returning players immediate starts against Aston Villa or opt to introduce them from the bench.

Captain Marquinhos is expected to feature from the outset alongside Portugal trio Vitinha, Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes, all of whom played 30 minutes in the recent friendly against Manchester United. Fellow World Cup stars Willian Pacho and Ibrahim Mbaye are also likely to start after featuring in both of PSG’s pre-season matches.

Lucas Digne could make his second PSG debut against his former side after the French club activated the £8.5million release clause in his Villa contract.

Aston Villa team news

World Cup medal winners Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins were all given extended time off and did not feature during Villa’s pre-season campaign.

Should the trio not be ready to start against PSG, Marco Bizot will remain in goal, with Victor Lindelof partnering Pau Torres in defence and Tammy Abraham leading the attack.

Villa will definitely be without Amadou Onana, who suffered an ACL injury to his right knee while representing Belgium at the World Cup. John McGinn is also a doubt after landing awkwardly on his left knee during the pre-season win over BG Pathum United.

Amadou Onana will be out for several months after suffering an ACL injury in the World Cup
AFP-DAVID RAMOS

Record signing Johan Manzambi remains sidelined as he continues his recovery from a knee injury sustained with Switzerland at the World Cup. However, new arrivals Alejandro Garnacho and Joao Gomes are both expected to make their competitive Villa debuts against PSG.

Ian Maatsen, meanwhile, is set to take over as Villa’s first-choice left-back following Digne’s departure, having struggled for regular starts last season.

- Robert Ilsley

UEFA SUPER CUP PREVIEW: PSG TAKE ON ASTON VILLA IN WEDNESDAY SHOWPIECE

 

August 11 – Paris Saint-Germain will face Aston Villa in Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, as the annual European curtain-raiser returns, and the first opportunity of silverware along with it. 

The yearly summer meeting between the Champions League and Europa League winners brings together a PSG side chasing another trophy after back-to-back European titles and a Villa team attempting to land one of the biggest prizes of Unai Emery’s reign against the best side in world football. 

PSG retained the Champions League in May after edging Arsenal 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Budapest, reinforcing their position at the head of the European game. 

Villa arrive after a similarly impressive continental campaign, crowned by a 3-0 Europa League final victory over Freiburg. 

The timing of the Super Cup may offer Villa an advantage. 

A key portion of PSG’s title-winning squad, namely Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé, Fabián Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi, have only recently returned from the World Cup and consequential holiday period, leaving Luis Enrique with a selection headache over how heavily to lean on players short of preparation. 

PSG’s underlying approach is unlikely to change – with Vitinha expected to retain his role as the organiser at the base of midfield, João Neves providing the energy around him and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia giving the French champions a constant threat from the left after an entire summer of rest and recovery. 

Villa have had rebuilding to do this summer. 

Morgan Rogers departed for Chelsea in a €137 million transfer, Youri Tielemans joined Manchester United and Amadou Onana will be sidelined until the new year with a long-term ACL injury. 

New signing Alejandro Garnacho will be charged with filling the attacking gap, while midfield additions Johan Manzambi and João Gomes give Emery like-for-like – if unproven – replacements. 

There is also an immediate reunion for Lucas Digne, who moved from Villa to PSG this summer and could now face his former club in his first European showpiece of the season. 

Should the scores be level after 90 minutes, there will be no extra time, with the trophy decided immediately by penalties. 

Referee Omar Artan will become the first non-European official to take charge of the UEFA Super Cup – an appointment that comes in the wake of a difficult summer for the Somalian. His World Cup ended before it had started when he was refused entry to the United States despite being selected as part of FIFA’s refereeing team. 

Artan, named African football’s referee of the year, has since been handed one of UEFA’s highest-profile early-season appointments. 

“When we got this call it was, for me and my family, really a very, very happy moment. There’s a big Somali community in Europe and in Austria and they are over the moon with me officiating a match like this. I believe that if I can succeed, anyone can. Don’t ever stop dreaming,” he told UEFA. 

Reflecting on his World Cup disappointment, Artan added: “It was a very tough period. A lot of people have sympathy for me, because when someone has been working a lot of years and is supposed to do something, and then can’t do it, it’s very challenging.”

His appointment gives an already important fixture another layer. Tune in for the tie at 20:00 BST on Wednesday. 

- Harry Ewing,