Achraf Hakimi was everywhere at Stade Oceane on Friday, scoring three and setting up two more as Paris Saint-Germain dismantled a fragile Le Havre side 5-1 in Ligue 1 Matchday 9. The right back, operating almost as a second forward under Luis Enrique, turned the game on its head within two minutes of Le Havre’s opener and never let up. Senny Mayulu and Mika Godts also got on the scoresheet, but the night belonged entirely to Hakimi.
Key Moments
- 18′, Maja opens the scoring for Le Havre, finishing from a Fofana delivery to give the hosts a surprising lead.
- 26′, PSG level through Godts, who converts after being played in by Hakimi, beginning an eight-minute swing that changes the game.
- 28′, Hakimi puts PSG ahead himself, assisted by Senny Mayulu. The goal is checked and confirmed by VAR.
- 55′, Hakimi makes it 3-1 with no assist recorded, driving forward and finishing to put the match beyond Le Havre.
- 62′, Senny Mayulu adds a fourth, supplied by Hakimi, extending PSG’s control and completing a remarkable individual contribution from the defender.
- 69′, Hakimi completes his hat-trick with a third goal, again without a credited assist, before being withdrawn two minutes later to a job well done.
Tactical Breakdown
PSG controlled this match from the moment they found their rhythm. Luis Enrique’s side finished with 71 percent possession, completed 711 of 777 passes, and generated an expected goals figure of 3.13 against Le Havre’s 1.91. The visitors had 10 shots on target compared to Le Havre’s five, and the difference in quality through the thirds was stark. The 4-3-3 allowed Hakimi to overlap and underlap constantly, with Mayulu and Godts pulling defenders wide to create the lanes he exploited.
The decisive shift came in a two-minute spell just before the half-hour mark. Le Havre led at 18 minutes and looked organised in their 3-4-2-1 shape, but the goals at 26 and 28 from Godts and Hakimi flipped the scoreline before the home side could reorganise. After Hakimi’s 55th-minute strike confirmed the result, Le Havre made three substitutions at once on the hour mark, replacing Nakamura, Richardson and Lamine N’Diaye, but the changes could not stem PSG’s momentum. Maghnes Akliouche was taken off at 63 minutes on the PSG side, bringing on Beraldo as Luis Enrique managed the load, then Hakimi and Godts followed at 71 minutes once the evening’s work was done.
Le Havre’s 3-4-2-1 gave them decent shape early on and their 14 shots showed they were not passive, but with only 29 percent possession and a back line repeatedly exposed by Hakimi’s runs, Didier Digard’s team had no answer once PSG found their groove. The home side’s xG of 1.91 tells a more competitive story than the scoreline suggests, but they could not convert beyond Maja’s opener, and five goals conceded extended a difficult run for the division’s bottom side.
Player Ratings
Match Context
Standings
Head To Head
Verdict
The win moves Paris Saint-Germain to 20 points after nine games, five ahead of second-placed Rennes, who sit on 16. Le Havre, on just two points from nine outings, remain bottom of Ligue 1 and face an increasingly difficult path through the rest of the season. For PSG and Luis Enrique, the performance was also a reminder of how much damage Hakimi can do when given license to attack, a question rival coaches will have to answer as the title race develops.
Le Havre
Paris Saint Germain
A. Hakimi
Senny Mayulu