PSG Beat Aston Villa 2-1 in UEFA Super Cup as 17-Year-Old Madjo Makes History
Paris Saint-Germain claimed the 2026 UEFA Super Cup with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in Salzburg, but the scoreline alone does not tell the story of a night that belonged as much to a teenager on the losing side as to the holders of European football's biggest prize.
The Super Cup is the annual curtain-raiser in which the Champions League winners face the Europa League winners — a one-off match to settle which of the season's two European champions stands tallest. PSG, back-to-back Champions League winners after finals in Munich and Budapest, were firm favourites against a Villa side appearing in the fixture for the first time.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave PSG the lead after 20 minutes. The Georgian winger left Matty Cash standing and curled a shot into the top left-hand corner — the kind of finish that looks rehearsed but rarely is. PSG controlled possession and looked comfortable. Then, on the stroke of half-time, Villa found an equaliser that nobody saw coming.
Brian Madjo, aged 17, drove the ball past the PSG goalkeeper to become the youngest scorer in the Super Cup's history. The goal was a milestone in itself; the journey to it was something else entirely. Villa signed Madjo from French club Metz in January 2026 for £10 million. FIFA then prohibited him from playing, and Villa had to win an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport — the body that settles sporting disputes — just to register him. Six months later, he was making his first competitive start and scoring on the European stage.
Villa were not at full strength. Emi Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins were still on holiday, having been given extended leave after the World Cup. Only five players from the side that beat Freiburg in May's Europa League final remained in the starting XI. Boubacar Kamara did start — his first appearance since a serious knee injury against Tottenham in January. Unai Emery, Villa's manager, had used a demanding pre-season to prepare his reshuffled squad: a 4-2 loss to Real Sociedad on 28 July, then a 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on 7 August that concluded the club's Asia tour.
The winner came from Désiré Doué, who beat Villa's offside trap — the defensive line that catches attackers in an illegal position — and slotted home. The flag went up immediately, but VAR, the video review system used to check key decisions, showed that Cash had played Doué onside by holding him level with the last defender. The goal was awarded. Villa could not find a second equaliser.
There was a notable figure in the middle of the match. Omar Artan, a Somali referee, took charge of the game after being handed the appointment by UEFA, having been denied entry to the United States to officiate at the World Cup. His presence on the whistle gave the evening an extra layer of significance that had nothing to do with the scoreline.
What makes this stand out is the contrast at the heart of the night. PSG are a club built to win every trophy in sight, and they added another. Villa, depleted and reshuffled, gave a 17-year-old whose registration was fought over in court the biggest stage of his young life. He scored. The result went the way most people expected. The memory will not.
