Luis Enrique: "Hakimi is the best right-back in the world"

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique described Achraf Hakimi, who took centre stage with a hat-trick in an outstanding performance against Le Havre, as "the best right-back in the world".

Hakimi was directly involved in all five of his side's goals in the match at the Stade Océane, which ended in a 5-1 victory for PSG. The win consolidated the Parisians' place at the top of Ligue 1.

The hosts went ahead through Josh Maja in the 18th minute, but Mika Godts quickly levelled. Hakimi then stepped forward to finish a move set up by Senny Mayulu and put his side in front. PSG moved up a gear after the break, and the Moroccan star struck twice more to complete his hat-trick, while also providing the assist for Mayulu's goal.

Hakimi joined the select group of players to have been directly involved in five goals (three goals, two assists) in a single Ligue 1 match since detailed match data began to be recorded in the 2006-07 season, putting his name alongside stars such as Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappé. He also became the first defender to achieve the feat in that period. Before the Le Havre game, he had contributed to no more than two goals in a single match across his 135 Ligue 1 appearances.

The Moroccan, who had failed to register a goal contribution in his first seven league matches of the season before kick-off, now shares with Ferran Torres the distinction of having the most league goal contributions for PSG in the 2026-27 season following his show against Le Havre.

After the match, Luis Enrique heaped praise on Hakimi: "Hakimi is our captain and we know his quality very well. He is really like a forward; he plays very high up the pitch, and his ability to make runs into space and produce assists is incredible. When we have the ball he is clearly an attacking player, and when the opponent has the ball he is a defender like everyone else. He is the best right-back in the world. Even so, what makes me happiest is not so much that he scored three goals, but that he is constantly at the highest level and always ready. It means a great deal to our team."

The result extended PSG's winning run in all competitions to nine matches, the second-longest streak of Luis Enrique's tenure.

In a match in which Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were unavailable through injury, the Spanish coach also rested the in-form Désiré Doué. Among the young players given an opportunity, Mika Godts has now contributed to three goals (two goals, one assist) in his last two matches, while Senny Mayulu both scored and provided an assist in a Ligue 1 match for the second time in his career.

The game also marked a historic milestone for Luis Enrique. The experienced coach secured his 127th win in all competitions in charge of PSG, moving past Laurent Blanc's 126 to become the head coach with the most victories in the French giants' history. Asked about the record, he said: "I had never thought about this before. Since my first day here, the only thing I have said is that I want to achieve great success and win with this club."