Morocco international Achraf Hakimi was on target as Paris Saint-Germain began the defence of their French Ligue 1 crown with a 5-0 thrashing of Clermont Foot.
After Neymar had opened the scoring with a lovely half-volley on the edge of the box after just nine minutes, Hakimi completed a devastating counterattack in the 26th minute.
Brilliant link-up play between Neymar and Lionel Messi saw the ball squared to the on-rushing Moroccan and he made no mistakes from an acute angle, blasting the ball at the far post to double PSG’s advantage.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier has expressed a desire to use a 3-4-3 formation as he begins his adventure with the Parisiens and there was enough evidence that it is a system that will bring out the best in Hakimi, given his knack for making forays forward are best served while playing as a wingback.
Hakimi linked up well with Messi, Neymar and Pablo Sarabia, who slotted in the place of the injured Kylian Mbappe, as he constantly fetched pinpoint crosses with his driving runs forward.
Hakimi ended the game with a 96 percent passing accuracy while he was also solid at the back, winning two tackles against a toothless Clermont who failed to threaten their star-studded opponents.
Marquinhos made it 3-0 for PSG by the half-time break with Messi scoring twice in the second half to complete the rout.
Senegal defender Abdou Diallo was an unused substitute while his countryman midfielder Idrissa Gueye, whose PSG future is still up in the air and was not in the squad due to an injury.
Meanwhile, Senegalese forwards Krepin Diatta and Habib Diallo were on target for their sides as Monaco survived a late onslaught from Strasbourg to win 2-1 at the Stade de la Meinau.
Diatta unleashed a magnificent long-range volley into the top corner to open the scoring for the visitors two minutes to half-time before Sofiane Diop doubled Monaco’s lead eight minutes after the restart, slotting into an empty net after Strasbourg defenders pushed the ball into his path.
Diallo then gave the hosts a chance of an unlikely comeback, clinically dispatching Thomas Delaine’s pin-point cross to set up an intriguing final 25 minutes.
The Senegalese forward then thought he had equalized in 92nd minute but VAR ruled out the goal due to an offside in the build-up as Monaco held on to extend their unbeaten Ligue 1 away record to six matches.
