PSG vs Barcelona, Hakimi sends a champions message

Achraf Hakimi turned Paris Saint Germain's 4-2 win over Barcelona at the Parc des Princes into a statement about status. Speaking after the match, he said PSG wanted to show they are champions and that they want to keep winning, with the French side having already beaten Manchester City one week earlier.

Hakimi's message after the win

"When you play against this kind of team, you want to show them that we are the champions and that we want to keep winning," Hakimi told Foot Mercato, in comments translated from French. "We want to show them that we are also one of the best teams in the world, maybe even the best right now."

That is still a claim, not a fact. PSG can point to the table behind it, though. They sit on 9 points from 3 Champions League matches, with a plus-9 goal difference, and have won all 3 of those games.

Hakimi also said the evening was part of a bigger push. "We have something big to achieve this year: win again. Keep winning is our objective," he said, adding that Luis Enrique keeps the squad in that mentality every day.

Barcelona's defeat and the side stories

Barcelona left Paris with their first defeat of the 2026/27 season, but Raphinha tried to keep the tone down afterwards. He called PSG one of the best teams in the world and said the result should not affect the mood before Sunday's trip to Real Madrid for El Clasico.

Barcelona remain on 6 points from 3 Champions League matches, and they are still top of La Liga on 27 points from 9 games. Raphinha's line was simple enough, this was a tough night, but not a season-defining one for the Spanish side.

The other story from the night was Lucas Hernández. He learned in the pre-match team talk that he would start in place of the injured Nuno Mendes, then made the most of it. Désire Doué called him the man of the match, and Luis Enrique praised the way he marked Lamine Yamal and scored.

There was also a breakout moment for Xavi Espart, who scored his first Champions League goal at the Parc des Princes at 18. He has 2 Champions League goals in 3 appearances and an 8.5 season rating in the competition, which backs up the idea that his night in Paris was more than a one-off.