Paris Saint-Germain thought they had taken a vital second-half lead when Doué finished from the right-hand side of the box in the 61st minute, only for the assistant referee to flag him offside.
The decision did not stand for long. VAR checked the move and awarded the goal after Cash was judged to have kept Doué onside on the far side of the attack. It was a key intervention in a tight European Super Cup match, with the scoreline carrying even more weight because the game would go straight to penalties if it finished level.
How the goal unfolded
Doué's finish came after he ran into the box and beat Bizot, but the offside flag initially cut short the celebration. After the review, the goal was confirmed and PSG had the breakthrough they had been chasing.
The context mattered. By the 54th minute, Villa had registered 11 attempts to PSG's four, underlining how much pressure PSG had faced for long stretches. Even so, the French side had stayed in the contest and were still dangerous once the game opened up.
What the review changed
The VAR check centered on Cash's position, and that detail proved decisive. Rather than leaving PSG frustrated by another tight call, the review turned the moment into a confirmed goal and changed the match state immediately.
Earlier in the half, Buendia had released Madjo into space down the middle at the 50-minute mark, and Madjo rolled a pass to McGinn, whose shot was parried by Safonov. Torres was booked a minute later for clattering into the back of Doué. By the 65th minute, Mendes was slaloming down the middle as Villa came under pressure, and two minutes later he went down after his boot came off, leading to a drop ball.
It was the kind of sequence that showed how finely balanced the match was. PSG needed one big moment, and Doué provided it after VAR did the final work.
