Hakimi hat-trick as PSG thrash Le Havre 5-1 to stay top
A Hakimi hat-trick, his first in Ligue 1, helped a rotated PSG come from behind to beat bottom side Le Havre 5-1 and stay top of the table.
A Hakimi hat-trick, the first of his Ligue 1 career, powered a much-changed Paris Saint-Germain to a 5-1 win at bottom side Le Havre on Friday night.
Main photo: Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Le Havre had the Stade Océane believing when Josh Maja put them ahead after 18 minutes. It lasted eight. PSG scored five unanswered goals, three of them from their captain at right-back, and stay top of the table after Matchday 9.
Hakimi hat-trick turns the game
Maja finished off a move involving Rayan Fofana to give the hosts a deserved lead. PSG’s response was quick and ruthless. Mika Godts levelled in the 26th minute, with Hakimi providing the pass, and two minutes later Hakimi scored a second himself.
The Morocco captain added the third ten minutes after the restart from a free-kick, a goal that stood after a VAR check. Senny Mayulu, again teed up by Hakimi, made it 4-1 on 62 minutes before Hakimi completed his treble on 69. He was withdrawn shortly afterwards with the game long settled, having scored three and set up two.
Enrique rotates and still cruises
Luis Enrique made five changes. Vitinha, João Neves, Fabián Ruiz and Willian Pacho were all left out, while Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia remain sidelined. Désiré Doué had to settle for a place on the bench. Lucas Digne and Lucas Hernández came into the defence, and young forwards Godts and Mayulu both started and both scored.
As we flagged in our Le Havre v PSG preview, the leaders arrived without some of their biggest attacking names. It barely mattered. Hakimi, so often the creator from wide, became the chief finisher instead.
| Minute | Team | Scorer | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18′ | Le Havre | Josh Maja | 1-0 |
| 26′ | PSG | Mika Godts | 1-1 |
| 28′ | PSG | Achraf Hakimi | 1-2 |
| 55′ | PSG | Achraf Hakimi (free-kick) | 1-3 |
| 62′ | PSG | Senny Mayulu | 1-4 |
| 69′ | PSG | Achraf Hakimi | 1-5 |
Le Havre still searching
For Le Havre, it was another painful evening. Maja’s goal and a lively opening 25 minutes showed what they can do, but they had no answer once PSG found their rhythm, and the hosts remain without a league win this season.
The rest of the Ligue 1 weekend now gets the chance to respond, with the northern rivals meeting later on Friday in the Lille v Lens Derby du Nord. French football has had plenty of injury worries this autumn, from Dembélé and Kvaratskhelia in Paris to the Mbappé knee injury that cut short his France camp.
PSG’s attacking depth was tested over the summer too. Our sister site DGBN has covered how Barcola joined Liverpool from PSG in a £123m move, yet on this evidence Enrique still has goals all over the pitch.
