Achraf Hakimi and Kyle Walker were both in action at Parc des Princes as the hosts overcame Pep Guardiola’s men, but who is the better?
Paris Saint-Germain have the better right-back with Achraf Hakimi ahead of Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, according to Goal Africa readers.
The Morocco and England internationals played the entire duration of Tuesday’s Uefa Champions League Group A match with PSG coming out on top with a 2-0 victory.
Idrissa Gueye’s early goal in the eighth minute and Lionel Messi’s strike in the 74th minute secured maximum points for the Ligue 1 giants which was their first win in the competition this season after two games.
Going by the poll conducted for fans on Goal Africa’s Twitter page, 63.2 per cent believe Hakimi is the better right-back compared to Walker, who received 36.8 per cent of the total votes.
PSG vs Manchester City: Who’s got the better right-back?
— Goal Africa (@GoalAfrica) September 28, 2021
During Tuesday’s encounter, Hakimi made more defensive contributions with four completed tackles and five clearances, compared to Walker’s three completed tackles and a clearance.
The Morocco defender was also involved in the build-up to the second goal on Tuesday.
After the game, Manchester United legends Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves were full of praise for his attacking run that led to Messi’s first goal for PSG.
“The pace, the strength, the balance and the technique to put it where he did… phenomenal,” Ferdinand said, per AS.
“Hakimi’s run is so important because it takes the defender away. When you’ve got players like Hakimi causing havoc like that it opens up the space for someone like Messi to exploit.”
Hakimi has established himself in Mauricio Pochettino’s team since his arrival from Inter Milan in July.
In addition to his defensive work, the 22-year-old has contributed three goals and two assists in 11 appearances for PSG across all competitions this campaign.
“There was so much to like about this goal. I love the overlap from Hakimi there, making the space. It’s Messi all over,” Hargreaves added.
“He would have been expecting it, he’s the man for the big occasion. He always seems to score against Pep Guardiola teams for whatever reason. Today was the perfect performance from PSG.
“Once they got the first goal and the space opened up for Hakimi, with Messi being able to come inside and then Neymar and Mbappe are in there… it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
“Today they got it right and with Messi on the end of things, he’s going to score a tonne of goals there.”
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