Achraf Hakimi Sends Strong Message to LFP After PSG's Trophy Loss

Captain of PSG at Lens on Sunday night, Achraf Hakimi criticised the organisation of the Trophee des Champions by the LFP, while insisting that it was not an excuse to justify his team's defeat. Four days after lifting the European Super Cup in Salzburg, PSG had to watch Lens lift the Trophee des Champions on Sunday night. The Sang et Or won 1-0 at home in a boiling atmosphere, while the Collectif Ultras Paris had decided to boycott the match due to the "lunar" choice by the LFP to draw lots for the venue, having failed to find a neutral location to organise the match. A Lens side playing at home, despite a few Parisian supporters, won this match against the reigning French champion and French Cup winner. PSG captain Achraf Hakimi spoke to Ligue 1+ after the match on Sunday night and criticised the match organisation, without mentioning the LFP. "We did everything to win; we had chances; we controlled the whole match. After that, there are situations we cannot control. Coming here, playing on a pitch that is not neutral, without our supporters. It's a final; we should have played under the same conditions (as Lens), but that's not how it happened. But these are not excuses; we did everything to win, but unfortunately we didn't score the goal, which is the most important thing. In the end, all of that counts, but I am happy with the team's work," said the Moroccan right back. Pressed further on the advantage of Lens having played this match with a crowd on their side, Hakimi added: "We have already played many finals on neutral grounds, with half the stadium with our supporters and the other half with the opposing supporters. Today, it looked more like an away Ligue 1 match. If we want to keep growing our championship, these are things we must look at. But as I said, it's not an excuse, even if it helped them a little bit. We will continue to work for the rest." In addition to having drawn Bollaert, the LFP decided to allocate only 1,825 places to Parisian supporters on Sunday, which is the size of the away section in the Champions League configuration at Lens. This obvious inequity was criticised by Hakimi and led the CUP to boycott the match. The Lens supporters, for their part, did not hold back their enjoyment and were more than happy with this grotesque situation. Clearly, it was a bad way to start the season, but it is completely logical given the physical condition of PSG's most important players after the World Cup. In fact, the victory against Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup was somewhat surprising. At least there was that feeling of concern before the match, with Luis Enrique himself warning that his players were not arriving in full condition, but that it was what it was and there was no other choice. PSG Forward Agrees Personal Terms with Premier League ClubAccording to reports from the French media, Monday evening has seen PSG forward Ibrahim Mbaye agree personal terms with Premier League side Liverpool