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Hakimi bags hat-trick as PSG rip Le Havre to pieces
Achraf Hakimi rose to the occasion scoring a glorious hat-trick on Friday as a heavily rotated Paris Saint-Germain thumped rock-bottom Le Havre 5-1 in Ligue 1.
PSG's nearest Ligue 1 rivals Rennes lost 5-2 at Nice to drop four points adrift while Olivier Giroud's late goal lifted Lille second after their 1-0 home win over Lens.
The former World Cup and Champions League winner Giroud is now 40 and came off the bench to net his third goal of the season to settle a tense, tight struggle.
PSG have won six league games in a row after a slow start this term and top the table with 20 points. Lille are second on 18 but Monaco can join them should they beat Paris FC on Sunday, while Rennes have 16.
On just two points so far, Le Havre gave their opponents a game early on as they suddenly surged forward in numbers with the PSG backline scampering in retreat before striker Josh Maja hammered in the opener against the run of play on 18 minutes.
Pushing for a second, Le Havre were carved open in a quick-fire move with Belgian winger Mika Godts racing onto a Hakimi pass to level on 26 minutes.
Two minutes later Hakimi left the defence trailing and his blistering low drive just inside the near post made it 2-1.
The European champions were running the Normandy side ragged before Hakimi scored his second with a fierce free-kick that curled low past the 'keeper Arnaud Bodard to put PSG 3-1 up.
Le Havre poured everyone forward in a brave effort to get back into the game, only for PSG to burst back, catching the home goalkeeper way off his line with not a single defender in his half.
Senny Mayulu ran around Bodard, and his cool long-range finish hit the back of the net to effectively end the contest, just after the hour.
Hakimi completed his hat-trick when Bodard saved his initial effort, only for the ball to rebound off the Morocco international and loop into the net on 69 minutes. He had hardly finished a triumphant celebration when coach Luis Enrique subbed him off.
"He's a striker when we have the ball. He's free to do that when we are in possession, but obliged to defend when we aren't," said Luis Enrique.
The Spanish coach left stars Desire Doue, Vitinha and Joao Neves on the bench, while Ousmane Dembele was absent through injury and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia faces the prospect of missing the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in last week's Champions League win over Barcelona.
D.Cieslak--GL
