Buendia proud of Aston Villa despite UEFA Super Cup defeat by Paris Saint-Germain

Emiliano Buendia says Aston Villa can be proud of their performance despite losing 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg.

Paris Saint-Germain retained the trophy for a second consecutive year after defeating the English side at the Red Bull Arena in Austria.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring for the French club in the 20th minute before Aston Villa equalised through Brian Madjo just before half-time. Desire Doue restored Paris Saint-Germain’s lead in the 61st minute, securing victory for Luis Enrique’s side.

“It is a bad feeling, but we can be proud of what we produced in the match,” Aston Villa forward Buendia told TNT Sports.

“We competed strongly and had many chances, but they are players of the highest level. They had opportunities, scored their goals and won the match.”

Buendia said Villa had shown character, particularly after the scores were level.

“We were fully involved and competing very well when the score was 1-1, and in the second half we showed a great fighting spirit,” he added.

The Argentine also praised teenager Brian Madjo, who scored Villa’s goal.

“Brian Madjo is a young player who is developing well and I always try to help him,” said Buendia.

Villa have made changes during the summer, but Buendia believes the club’s foundations remain strong as they prepare for the new campaign.

“There have been changes this summer, but the structure of the team, the manager and the club are determined to maintain our current position and we have to keep working hard,” he said.

The victory gave Paris Saint-Germain their second successive UEFA Super Cup triumph, following their success against Tottenham Hotspur last season when they won on penalties.

It also marked the 13th trophy of Luis Enrique’s career with the French club, from 16 competitions contested during his time in charge.

Paris Saint-Germain have won the last two Champions League titles and are now one title short of matching the historic achievement recorded by the Spanish “Royal Club”, Real Madrid.

The match was refereed by Somali official Omer Artan, the first non-European referee to take charge of a UEFA Super Cup match.

Artan had previously been excluded from the 2026 World Cup after United States authorities refused to grant him a visa to enter the country, despite him having arrived at the airport.

UEFA decided to compensate Artan for missing the World Cup by appointing him to referee the UEFA Super Cup.

The defeat was a fourth UEFA Super Cup final loss for Aston Villa manager Unai Emery. He has now lost all four of the finals he has contested, in 2014, 2015, 2021 and 2026.