Paris Saint-Germain are only the second club of the modern era to lift the UEFA Super Cup in consecutive seasons. In the final in Austria, the Parisians saw off Aston Villa 2-1 and joined Real Madrid and Milan on a very short list. Once again, this is the side the rest of Europe measures itself against. "Winning is in our DNA," Luis Enrique said, summing up the mood in his dressing room in a single line. It was a triumph.
The man who shaped the night was Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. He opened the scoring on 20 minutes with a superb strike, and the rest followed from there. Named the best player of last season's Champions League, the Georgian is now in the running for the Ballon d'Or. L'Équipe, France's leading sports daily, rate him the front-runner for the award and put him on their cover under one word: "Contender". Clarence Seedorf, a Champions League winner with both Milan and Real Madrid, was just as blunt. "Kvaratskhelia is the best player in the world," the Dutchman insisted. The Georgian forward is closing in on a permanent place at the summit of the world game.
