PSG/Aston Villa – Unai Emery explains his choices against PSG | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa faced off this Wednesday at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg in the 2026 UEFA Super Cup.A match that ended in a 2-1 Parisian victory (PSG/Aston Villa video highlights). After the match, the English club’s DDD, DD, spoke to Canal+/at the press conference.

Emery: “I want to use my experience to avoid mistakes”

A frustrating defeat, but also some positive things? It wasn’t far from being a better result?

Yes, of course. Before the match, the plan we had led to different consequences. We chose to play with players who were ready while avoiding risks with others. By giving time to those who played through to the end of the World Cup, like Martinez, Watkins and Konsa. They are important players and it’s important to manage players properly. We have to be competitive and keep moving forward, it’s the start of the season.

I want to use my experience to avoid mistakes. I’m very happy that young players were able to play even though they didn’t get any minutes last year. There is still work to do, but they showed they can be with us.

(…) We wanted to be smart. We could have won, drawn or lost with any players. So I decided not to use certain players. Even though they wanted to play. I told them to keep resting. I’m happy with our decision. Young players also need to feel that they can perform, that they can have confidence.

They responded well tactically and individually. They felt they could play against PSG and look them in the eye. I wanted this trophy, but we had to prepare for this match under these circumstances. We could have had a better result, but I’m proud of the players.

Emery: “They weren’t at their best, but they had their best players.”

Does it feel like a victory today?

No, it’s a defeat. We play to win. But we also play for the team. We will play other matches like this one against PSG. They weren’t at their best, but they had their best players. We played with personality. We grew in confidence during the match. In the first 20 minutes, we were not yet ready to show our personality. After that, we were how I wanted us to be in the plan, in the duels, in the pressing, in possession. That was the plan, even if we lost.

Where would you place PSG in football history?

They have reached a very high level, they play well and they can continue winning trophies for a long time.

Is Kvaratshkelia the favorite for the Ballon d’Or?

He was playing very well at Napoli and he is confirming it at PSG. He didn’t play at the World Cup and he was in good form tonight, with a goal the way he knows how to score them. We wanted to avoid him, but we couldn’t. It’s not my choice, but he is a candidate.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.