Cash: Aston Villa want to finish off work from last season in Super Cup

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Matty Cash says Aston Villa are keen to finish off the work of last season by lifting the UEFA Super Cup, against a Paris Saint-Germain side he has described as “the best team in the world by a mile.” 

The Red Bull Arena is the venue for Villa’s clash with Champions League holders PSG, with both teams looking to begin their 2026-27 campaigns with silverware. 

Unai Emery’s side will be playing in the Super Cup for just the second time, with Villa’s last appearance coming in 1983, when they beat Barcelona over two legs. 

Villa earned their spot in the match following a 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final, with goals from Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers helping the Villans to their first European trophy in 44 years. 

However, they come up against a PSG side that became only the third side ever to win both their league title and the European Cup/Champions League in back-to-back seasons, following their penalty shoot-out victory over Arsenal in May’s showpiece match.

The Europa League holders have won the Super Cup in just one of the last 13 years, with Atletico Madrid beating Real Madrid 4-2 in 2018, though Cash is keen to flip the script, after Villa ran PSG close in the Champions League two seasons ago. 

“It’s massive,” Cash said. “The manager’s touched on it in recent days; the season is done, but you’ve still got the Super Cup, which is finishing off the work you did last season.

“We’re against a fantastic team who are obviously in demand. I think in football at the minute, they’re the best team in the world by a mile.

“Hopefully, we can give them a good game. When we played them in the Champions League, we gave them a right good test.

“Villa Park was great that night, and hopefully we can take numbers to Austria and have a good go at it.

“It’s a special game for us. It’s another opportunity to go and win a trophy, so hopefully we can give it our all, and give it a good go.”

What we’re playing for… pic.twitter.com/3l3j2y7L0h

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 10, 2026

This is just the third meeting between the two teams, after the 2024-25 Champions League quarter-finals, with PSG winning 3-1 at home and losing 2-3 away to progress 5-4 on aggregate, en route to their maiden triumph in the competition. 

PSG are looking to become just the fourth team to retain the UEFA Super Cup, after Ajax (1973, 1974), Milan (1989, 1990) and Real Madrid (2016, 2017), and they have strengthened their squad heading into the new campaign. 

Maghnes Akliouche has joined from Monaco for a reported €50m fee, while Lucas Digne, who started Villa’s Europa League final win, returned to the French capital after his €9.9m (£8.5m) release clause was triggered. 

But Villa have Emery in their dugout. The Spaniard lifted his fifth Europa League crown in May, becoming only the second manager to win a major European competition five times, after Carlo Ancelotti in the Champions League.

However, Emery has lost on all three of his appearances in the Super Cup, with Sevilla against Real Madrid and Barcelona in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and with Villarreal against Chelsea in 2021.

Cash said that Emery has instilled a winning mentality within the group, and he hopes they can stay at Europe’s top table for many years to come. 

“Since the manager came in, he’s implemented what it’s like to win and what you have to do to win,” Cash added. 

“Last year, we spoke about winning the trophy, and in recent years we’ve been in the top four, top five or top six, for three or four years in a row now.

“We set the bar high, competing in Europe and doing well in the league, and I think it’s what everyone wants to do.

“If you’re always up there, you’re successful as a team, as a club, so the levels we’re setting, the demands we’re putting as a group, you have to be there.

“The club, when you’re winning things and you’re always there, you want to stay there.”

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