Le Havre, Oct 31 (V7N)- Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi scored the first hat-trick of his career as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) came from behind to defeat Le Havre 5-1 in Ligue 1 on Friday, October 30.
The victory extended PSG’s winning run to nine consecutive matches in all competitions and marked their sixth successive league win under coach Luis Enrique.
PSG faced an early setback when former Sunderland and West Brom forward Josh Maja gave the hosts the lead in the 18th minute. However, the French and European champions quickly recovered.
Captain Hakimi set up Mika Godts for the equaliser in the 26th minute before scoring himself two minutes later to put PSG ahead.
The 27-year-old Moroccan extended the advantage in the 55th minute with a superb free-kick from around 20 yards, taking his tally to two goals.
Senny Mayulu added PSG’s fourth goal in the 62nd minute after being set up by Hakimi. The defender then completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute, finishing a move that began with a cross from Godts.
Hakimi’s landmark performance came in his 486th career appearance for club and country. He was directly involved in all five of PSG’s goals, scoring three and providing two assists.
The result continued PSG’s recovery from a difficult start to the league campaign, during which they collected just one point from their opening three matches.
The team were still without key attacking players Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia due to injuries. Luis Enrique had made five changes to his starting lineup following Monday’s 2-0 victory over Lyon.
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