Hakimi and Wahi hat-tricks, Giroud's derby winner: four things from Ligue 1 matchday 9

Two hat-tricks, a late winner from a 40-year-old and Troyes' first home league win in 21 games have shaped the first four matches of Ligue 1 matchday 9. After Saturday, PSG lead on 20 points, Lille are second on 18 and Rennes third on 16. Five games remain, from Strasbourg v Auxerre on Sunday at 15:00 to Lorient v Brest on Monday.

Hakimi leads a depleted PSG at Le Havre

PSG won 5-1 at bottom club Le Havre without four first-choice players, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembélé, Nuno Mendes and Marquinhos, all injured, AFP reports. Right-back Achraf Hakimi scored a hat-trick in the 28th, 55th and 69th minutes, and his cross set up PSG forward Mika Godts' equaliser in the 26th, after Le Havre's Josh Maja had put the hosts ahead in the 18th. PSG's Senny Mayulu added the fourth in the 62nd. AFP counts the win as PSG's ninth in a row in all competitions, whatever side coach Luis Enrique fields, ahead of Tuesday's Champions League trip to Villarreal. Le Havre stay bottom on 2 points, still without a win in nine games.

Wahi's treble sinks Rennes

Nice striker Elye Wahi, 23 and on loan from Frankfurt, scored three times in the 5-2 win over Rennes, two of them penalties, and added an assist. His third goal came in the 73rd minute from a pass by team-mate Gauthier Hein. Wahi now has six league goals in eight appearances, and five goals and two assists in his last three games, according to Foot en France. That leaves him one behind Rennes' Esteban Lepaul (7) in our top-scorer table and level with Paris FC's Lassine Sinayoko, whose side host Monaco on Sunday. Nice coach Olivier Pantaloni still wanted more from Wahi: “He has had a few untidy moments in his game. He has to improve on that too.” Nice climb to seventh on 14 points. Rennes, second before kick-off, fall to third after their third league defeat of the season and have conceded 19 goals in nine games; second-placed Lille have conceded six.

Giroud, 40, keeps Lille in PSG's slipstream

Lille beat Lens 1-0 in the Nord derby through Lille striker Olivier Giroud, 40, who came on late and scored in the 86th minute. The goal was his third in the league this season, according to Media365 via Orange. The win lifts Lille to second on 18 points, two behind PSG, after two draws in a row, and ends a run of three straight wins for Lens, now eighth on 13. Giroud, who is expected to retire at the end of 2026-27, said: “Just because I said it was probably my last year doesn't mean you shouldn't count on me.” Both clubs are back in the Champions League this week. Lille, beaten in all three games so far, visit Norway's Bodø/Glimt on Tuesday, and Lens host Como on Wednesday.

Troyes end a 21-game wait at home

Troyes beat Le Mans 2-0 at the Stade de l'Aube, their first home league win in 21 games, So Foot notes. Midfielder Mouhamed Diop, 26, scored his first Ligue 1 goal in the 33rd minute, and Comoros international Ismaël Boura, back from a hip injury, doubled the lead in the 71st, five minutes after coming on. The win was also Troyes' first since matchday 2, after six games without one, Le Phocéen adds. Troyes coach Stéphane Dumont's side climb to 15th on 8 points and leave the relegation zone, a point above 16th-placed Strasbourg. Strasbourg, level on 7 points with 17th-placed Le Mans, host Auxerre on Sunday, and Le Havre are 18th on 2.