PSG Arsenal Hakimi ratings European final penalty

"Champions of Europe! Champions of Europe!" The Parc des Princes could rejoice. In front of 48,000 spectators, Paris Saint-Germain retained its European title in the final against Arsenal, won on penalties after a draw (1-1, 4 pens 3). In this evening of tension, Achraf Hakimi did not deliver his most spectacular performance, but he held up. And that is already a lot.

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Back in the starting lineup after several weeks of absence due to a thigh injury, the Moroccan fullback was inevitably expected to deliver. His presence posed a simple question: could he really keep up the pace of a Champions League final after such a break? L’Équipe summed up this doubt in one sentence: "Should he have been thrown in after a month’s absence?" After a first half marked by technical imprecisions and some poor choices, the answer was not obvious.

Hakimi took time to fully enter his final. On his right flank, he often tried to provide a solution, but without finding his usual speed or his ability to swing an action. Foot Mercato, which gives him a rating of 6, notes that he "logically lacked juice," while highlighting a very good defensive return from the 8th minute. Same observation from Le Parisien, which gives him 6.5: his offensive influence was "limited," but his defensive seriousness allowed PSG not to lose balance.

Facing a very deep and compact Arsenal, the Moroccan struggled to find spaces. Eurosport, more severe with a rating of 5, believes he "never really brought danger" and that he "broke his teeth on Arsenal’s very low defense." ParisFans, also at 5, evokes a frustrating first half, with Hakimi often finding himself in the same zone as Ousmane Dembélé, in the middle of the English block.

But this final is not just about what Hakimi failed to achieve. It also tells what he refused to let go. As the minutes went by, the Moroccan regained impact in his runs, continued to offer calls and especially maintained an impressive athletic level until the end. L’Équipe, which gives him a 6, insists on his "total generosity" and even qualifies him as an exceptional physical "machine." Le Figaro, also at 6, retains a player who held on for "120 minutes, with courage."

One of his best moments came on a free kick, around the 55th or 56th minute depending on the reports, when he forced David Raya to intervene. Goal.com, which gives him the best rating among the media cited with 7/10, insists on his accelerations, both defensive and offensive, and on his willingness to fight until the end. It was not the most brilliant Hakimi, but it was a Hakimi still capable of weighing in a tight final.

His strongest moment will ultimately remain his penalty kick. After 120 minutes of effort, runs and duels, the Moroccan converted his attempt in front of the Paris corner. Le Figaro describes a penalty scored "with an angry fist," the perfect image of a performance based more on mentality than technical brilliance.

The sports press thus agrees on one idea: Hakimi was not immense, but he was solid. Eurosport sums up his evening with a fair formula: "Tough if not immense." Between the 5s from So Foot, Eurosport and ParisFans, the 6s from Foot Mercato, L’Équipe and Le Figaro, the 6.5 from Le Parisien and the 7 from Goal.com, his match divides mainly on the degree of expectation placed around him.

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For Achraf Hakimi, this final will remain that of a European title won in pain, after an injury, with a less flamboyant role than usual but essential in Paris’s balance. The Moroccan did not illuminate the evening. He crossed it standing, until the end, and with the trophy in his arms.