Hey! If ever you needed a reminder that the European club season is right around the corner, Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa have one for you. The pair meet in Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup, all while the road to the Women’s World Cup continues – and remains top of mind for those targeting silverware in Brazil next summer. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the just in.
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🏆 Paris Saint-Germain, Aston Villa meet in Salzburg
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The UEFA Super Cup always serves as an opportunity to check in on a pair of teams in the final stages of preseason, even if Wednesday’s clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa will not offer a wholly accurate picture of either side weeks before their season begins. Returning stars from the World Cup may play a limited role, and some won’t be available at all — Villa’s World Cup semifinalists Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins and finalist Emiliano Martinez are in the midst of a post-tournament break. Both PSG and Villa arrive in Salzburg, Austria with different points to prove, though, and an opportunity to showcase just that.
PSG return to competitive play while still basking in the glow of their back-to-back UEFA Champions League wins, so a second consecutive victory in the UEFA Super Cup would only add to the sentiment that they are creating a dynasty. Coach Luis Enrique is expected to have his World Cup stars at his disposal on Wednesday, though the headliner may be a player who had the summer off, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The Georgia international has gone from strength to strength since joining PSG midway through the 2024-25 season and was easily the standout in last season’s Champions League title-winning campaign with 10 goals and six assists in 16 games. His dynamic play on the wing makes him hard to beat whether his opponents are understaffed or not, making him the most exciting player who was not at this summer’s tournament.
While PSG bring a sense of familiarity, Villa are the unknown quantity in Wednesday’s game. Their UEFA Europa League triumph in May was the culmination of years of impressive work under manager Unai Emery, but several key players have departed since. Morgan Rogers left for Chelsea, Youri Tielemans is now at Manchester United, and Lucas Digne swapped Villa for PSG. Villa have opted for a youthful refresh after fielding some of the Premier League’s older lineups last season, signing up the likes of Joao Gomes from Wolverhampton Wanderers and 20-year-old Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi.
The headliner, though, is 22-year-old Alejandro Garnacho, who is in need of some career rehabilitation after a couple of wasted seasons at Manchester United and Chelsea. Last summer’s move to Chelsea did little to raise Garnacho’s stock, but as James Benge notes, his deal to Villa makes for one of the most fascinating moves this summer in large part because he still boasts plenty of attacking talent.
- Benge: “His expected goals and expected assists are still holding up. So are some other winger qualities too. Just look at the names Garnacho is keeping company with when we plot non-penalty expected goals (npxG) and expected assists (xA) on one axis and successful take-ons on the other. You wouldn’t get a one-year rental on Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon or Bukayo Saka. Your first instinct might be that what those players did as starters, Garnacho did off the bench. Quite the opposite. Admittedly, the sample is only 962 minutes, but in that time Garnacho averaged 0.6 npxG+xA per 90, almost as much as Rayan Cherki and the fourth best in the division.”
Garnacho is the hook for the fascinating case study Villa are poised to be this season, especially in the Champions League. They have gone from a team on the rise to one in a rebuild, the Argentine winger key in ensuring they can punch above their weight when it comes time to face England’s top sides and Europe’s elites. Wednesday’s game against PSG, then, marks their first chance to prove that the strategy will work in the short-term.
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