Doue’s Late Dagger Stuns Young Villa in Super Cup Thriller

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put PSG up early. Twenty minutes in, he cut inside from the left, left Marco Bizot for dead. Villa, though, had a puncher's chance. A 17-year-old kid, Brian Madjo, popped up with the equalizer. Volleyed it past Matvey Safonov. Shook off Willian Pacho like he wasn't there. History made. Madjo became the youngest goalscorer in Super Cup history. Not bad for a professional debut.

That fairytale? It almost happened. Madjo, the debutant, had three more cracks at goal. Couldn't bury any. The match itself, played in a tense Red Bull Arena, was surprisingly tight. Another Villa youngster, 19-year-old George Hemmings, also turned heads. This, of course, came after Unai Emery benched his big guns: Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Emiliano Martinez. Smart move, or just giving the kids a run out?

Doue eventually put Villa out of their misery. Blasted past the defence, restored PSG's lead. Game over. Almost. Hemmings tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Nearly had his own dramatic equaliser. Safonov was having none of it.

Sky Sports says Unai Emery trotted out the usual platitudes. Praised his squad's 'competitive showing,' called it 'valuable learning' for Madjo and Hemmings. Sure, whatever. Luis Enrique's Champions League winners start their season with more silverware. Ho-hum. Villa, to their credit, made them work for it. Gave them a proper stern test, much like that wild 5-4 thriller they put on against PSG in Europe a year back. Maybe these kids actually learned something, after all.