Hakimi bags hat-trick as PSG rip Le Havre to pieces

PARIS, OCT 31: 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.�"AFP