French Cup: Achraf Hakimi, the man in form of PSG against OM

“With the World Cup, I gained a lot of confidence.” The Moroccan international, Achraf Hakimi, semi-finalist and author of a World Cup noticed in Qatar with Morocco, did not slow down the pace on his return to PSG, on the contrary. After a discreet first part of the season, the Parisian side is once again establishing itself as a boss on both halves of the field. With the approach of a period which will determine the future of the Parisian season, starting with its round of 16 of the Coupe de France against Olympique de Marseille, Wednesday February 8, PSG really needed to find a Hakimi in top form.

A new, more suitable system

At the end of January, Christophe Galtier had to reinvent himself to overcome theAbsences in his offensive sector, in particular that of Kylian Mbappé. The Parisian tactician therefore turned to a 4-4-2 system, which turns out to perfectly meet the qualities of Achraf Hakimi. “The fact that we are in a four-man defense allows him to arrive launched, to start from further away, assured Galtier at a press conference, Saturday February 4. We try to make it free so that it becomes a big strong point in verticality. (…) He is full of confidence, we are very happy to have him at this level. During the last three days of Ligue 1, he is the Parisian player who has touched the most balls (107 on average).

Achraf Hakimi is also decisive. Scorer in an offside position against Reims, author of a powerful and victorious kick finally refused for an illicit position by Fabián Ruiz in Montpellier, Achraf Hakimi started again against Toulouse, Saturday February 4. With a light strike from the left foot, the Moroccan put his team back on track, before delivering an assist to Lionel Messi to seal the Parisian victory (2-1).

Tuesday, February 7, Igor Tudor announced at a press conference the package of Nuno Tavares against PSG, injured in the thigh against OGC Nice on Sunday. The Marseille coach must quickly find a solution to compensate for the absence of the Portuguese side, oh so detrimental given Achraf Hakimi’s current form.