Matty Cash sets sights on UEFA Super Cup glory as Aston Villa prepare to face 'best team in the world' Paris Saint-Germain

Villa are preparing for their second appearance in the UEFA Super Cup as they face Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday. The Villans sealed their spot in the fixture by winning the Europa League with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg, capturing the club's first European trophy in 44 years. Meanwhile, PSG successfully retained both their domestic league title and the European Cup in back-to-back seasons after defeating Arsenal on penalties in May's showpiece final.

Cash believes the Super Cup serves as the ideal stage to round off the hard work and extraordinary achievements built by the team over the course of last season.

Speaking to the club's official website, the Poland international right-back offered glowing praise for Luis Enrique's side ahead of the showdown in Leipzig, stating: "It's massive. 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."

Cash views the fixture as a prime opportunity to capture another major piece of silverware despite acknowledging the scale of the challenge ahead. He added: "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."

This meeting marks the third clash between the two sides following their 2024-25 Champions League quarter-final tie, where PSG edged through 5-4 on aggregate. Emery's personal record in the Super Cup also looms over the fixture, with the Spanish tactician suffering defeats in all three of his previous appearances with Sevilla and Villarreal.

Cash highlighted the winning mentality that Emery has successfully embedded into the Villa squad: "Since the manager came in, he's implemented what it's like to win and what you have to do to win. 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."

He emphasised the club's long-term ambition to remain at the summit of European football: "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."

The fixture provides an ideal test of physical and tactical sharpness for Villa ahead of the new Premier League campaign. The match in Austria also sets up an immediate reunion with former left-back Lucas Digne, who recently completed a return to PSG after his release clause was triggered.