Paris Saint-Germain crowned UEFA Super Cup champions after 2-1 win over Aston Villa in Salzburg

Paris Saint-Germain were crowned UEFA Super Cup champions with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, in the Final of the tournament, a match settled in the second half by a goal from Désiré Doué that stood after a VAR review.

A back and forth final

The Parisian side started the better of the two teams and got their reward in the 19th minute, when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finished with his right foot from inside the box off an assist from Doué, after the Georgian winger had already tested the opposing goalkeeper moments earlier. PSG controlled possession and created the better chances through Hakimi and Doué, but Aston Villa refused to sit back and answered with Brian Madjo as their biggest threat down the left.

The English forward had rattled the post with a shot just a minute before finding the equalizer: in the 44th minute, Madjo finished from point blank range with his left foot off a cross from John McGinn, curling the ball into the top corner to make it 1-1 right before halftime. It capped a first half in which Villa, despite seeing less of the ball, posed a real threat on the wings.

In the second half, PSG regained control of the game, and the decisive moment arrived in the 60th minute: Doué finished low, just inside the left post, after a through ball from Ousmane Dembélé, who had just come on as a substitute. The goal was initially ruled out but was confirmed after a VAR review, sealing the final 2-1 scoreline. From there, the match opened up with changes on both sides, chances for Kvaratskhelia and Dembélé for PSG, and one last push from Aston Villa through Emiliano Buendía, who could not find the equalizer despite a header in stoppage time.

The numbers behind the match

The statistics reflect a close contest in terms of chance creation, though with clear territorial dominance for the French side.

According to our own post-match xG estimate based on shot location, Aston Villa generated 2.625 expected goals to Paris Saint-Germain's 1.017, suggesting the English side had the higher quality chances despite losing on the scoreboard. That gap is explained in part by the four big chances registered by Unai Emery's team compared to just one for PSG, a stat that confirms the final score did not fully reflect how the danger was shared out on the field.

What was expected versus what happened

Beforehand, we had projected a tight match, with 41% probability for Paris Saint-Germain, 32% for Aston Villa and 27% for a draw, with combined expected goals of 2.93. The outcome, a tight 2-1 decided by a single goal, fit that forecast of an even contest fairly well, though the way it was settled, a goal confirmed by VAR in the second half, added a twist that the preview could not have anticipated.

What the final leaves behind

PSG add another continental title and confirm the high level of their attack, with Doué and Kvaratskhelia as the offensive standouts. For Aston Villa, there is the feeling of having competed on equal terms, with Madjo as their standout individual performer, but without reward in a final that slipped away on the details: a goal validated by video review that ended up tipping the balance at Red Bull Arena.