Achraf Hakimi scored a hat-trick and provided two assists as Paris Saint-Germain overturned an early deficit to beat bottom-placed Le Havre 5-1 on Friday. The victory at Stade Oceane extended PSG’s lead in Ligue 1 and took the European champions to 20 points from their first nine league matches.
PSG finished the round of Friday fixtures two points clear of Lille, with Rennes another two points behind in third on 16. The league leaders secured the emphatic result despite injuries to several regular players, while coach Luis Enrique also left more of his key players on the bench.
Le Havre briefly had reason to hope for a different outcome when Josh Maja put the hosts ahead early in the match. But Hakimi helped turn the contest around, supplying Mika Godts for the equaliser before scoring himself in the 28th minute. His finish at the near post gave PSG a lead they went on to extend considerably.
The Morocco international added his second goal in the 55th minute, sending a free kick into the bottom corner. Seven minutes later, he played a central role in a counterattack and set up Senny Mayulu to make the score 4-1. Hakimi then completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute with a deflected shot, having either scored or assisted every PSG goal.
The result brought PSG a ninth straight win across all competitions and left Le Havre with a fifth consecutive defeat. The hosts remain at the foot of the standings with two points. Enrique welcomed the contributions of players whose opportunities had been limited, saying: “If we want to win trophies, we need everyone.”
Elsewhere, Lille climbed above Rennes into second place after Olivier Giroud delivered a late winner against RC Lens. The veteran striker came off the bench to score in the 86th minute, giving Lille a 1-0 home victory in the derby and keeping them within two points of PSG.
Rennes lost ground after suffering a 5-2 defeat at Nice, where Elye Wahi also scored a hat-trick. Nice’s victory was their fourth in five outings, continuing an improvement in form that lifted them to seventh in the table after they narrowly avoided relegation last season.
