The 2023 UEFA Super Cup in Piraeus: All you need to know
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
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UEFA Champions League winners Manchester City beat UEFA Europa League holders Sevilla on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup in Piraeus, Greece, on Wednesday 16 August.
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UEFA Champions League winners Manchester City beat UEFA Europa League holders Sevilla in the traditional curtain-raiser to the new European season.
When was the UEFA Super Cup?
The UEFA Super Cup kicked off at 21:00 CET on Wednesday 16 August 2023.
Where was the UEFA Super Cup played?
The 2023 UEFA Super Cup was played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. The match was the first UEFA club competition final to be held in Greece since AC Milan beat Liverpool 2-1 in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League final in Athens.
This venue was the 11th to stage the UEFA Super Cup since the fixture switched from its long-term home of Monaco, after Prague (2013), Cardiff (2014), Tbilisi (2015), Trondheim (2016), Skopje (2017), Tallinn (2018), Istanbul (2019), Budapest (2020), Belfast (2021) and Helsinki (2022).
The stadium was completely rebuilt to stage the football tournament at the 2004 Olympics, and now has a capacity of just over 30,000. It has hosted concerts by Rihanna, Aerosmith, 50 Cent and the Sex Pistols among others, and is well used to noisy occasions: Olympiacos fans are among the most passionate supporters in Greek football.
Who was the referee?
France's François Letexier was appointed by the UEFA Referees Committee to oversee the match. The 34-year-old has been officiating in the French Ligue 1 since 2016 and has also taken charge of international games.
Did you know?
Only one Greek player has ever featured in the UEFA Super Cup, Giourkas Seitaridis starting for European champions Porto as they lost 2-1 to UEFA Cup winners Valencia in the 2004 competition, staged at Monaco's Stade Louis II.
What is the UEFA Super Cup?
An annual fixture contested by the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, devised by Dutch reporter Anton Witkamp to decide definitively the top club side in Europe.
The European Cup/UEFA Champions League holders have always been involved, facing the holders of either the European/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1973–99) or the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League (2000–).
What does the UEFA Super Cup trophy look like?
The current model stands at 58cm tall and weighs in at 12.2kg.
The current trophy has been in use since 2006 but retains the basic design of its predecessor, which was conceived and crafted at the Bertoni workshop in Milan. The classic bowl is held aloft on a base that is subtly twisted like a skein of wool as two arms allow the winners enough room to take a firm grip as they do their lap of honour.
The winners are entitled to have a replica made, provided it does not exceed four-fifths of the dimensions of the original.
What else do you need to know?
If the scores were level after normal time the match went straight to a penalty shoot-out without extra time.
Do the European champions usually win?
The European Cup/UEFA Champions League holders have now won 28 of the 48 editions. Find a full rundown of UEFA Super Cup records and statistics here.