Key facts
- Aston Villa (Europa League champions) face Paris St-Germain (Champions League winners) in the UEFA Super Cup at Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
- Unai Emery has lost all three of his previous Super Cup finals: 2014 with Sevilla (vs Real Madrid), 2015 with Sevilla (5-4 extra-time loss to Barcelona), and 2021 with Villarreal (penalty defeat to Chelsea).
- Villa won the Europa League in May 2026, beating Freiburg in Istanbul, ending a 30-year trophy drought for the club and giving Emery a fifth Europa League title.
- Carlo Ancelotti holds five Super Cup titles (two with AC Milan, three with Real Madrid); Pep Guardiola has four (two with Barcelona, one each with Bayern Munich and Manchester City).
- Around 6,000 Aston Villa fans were reported travelling to Salzburg for the final.
- PSG were given an extra dressing room by UEFA after raising concerns about space at Red Bull Arena.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery takes charge in his fourth career UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday, facing Champions League winners Paris St-Germain at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg. Emery has lost all three of his previous Super Cup finals, and Villa are competing in the fixture as Europa League champions after beating Freiburg in Istanbul in May to win the competition for a fifth time in Emery’s career and end a 30-year trophy drought for the club.
Emery’s Super Cup history
Emery’s three previous Super Cup final defeats came with two different clubs. With Sevilla he lost 2-0 to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid in 2014, then lost 5-4 after extra time to a Barcelona side inspired by Lionel Messi in 2015. He had already departed for Paris St-Germain by the time Sevilla lost the 2016 final to Real Madrid again. His third defeat came in 2021 with Villarreal, losing on penalties to Chelsea in Dublin.
What Emery and PSG have said
Emery, speaking ahead of the match, noted that Villa captain John McGinn had reminded him of the Chelsea defeat. He described the final as an opportunity for a “special moment” and said competing for trophies is a professional’s objective, while acknowledging PSG are the favourites. PSG midfielder Vitinha, a four-time Ligue 1 winner, said the club remains motivated for silverware despite recent success, though he noted PSG’s pre-season had been shorter than usual. Defender Marquinhos said PSG’s recent trophy haul does not make future competitions easier and that he personally wants more titles.
Context: other managers’ Super Cup records
By comparison, Carlo Ancelotti has won the Super Cup five times — twice with AC Milan and three times with Real Madrid, including a win over Emery’s Sevilla side in 2014. Pep Guardiola has four Super Cup titles, with two wins at Barcelona and one each at Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Other details around the match
Around 6,000 Aston Villa supporters were reported to be travelling to Salzburg for the game. PSG reportedly raised concerns about the size of their allocated dressing room at Red Bull Arena and were given an additional room by UEFA. The BBC report also drew a comparison to Sunday’s Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester City, questioning whether such curtain-raiser trophies carry the same weight as competitive silverware, a point echoed by both Vitinha and Marquinhos in defending the Super Cup’s importance to PSG.
Sources
Featured photo: Junta Informa via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)