UEFA Champions League: Hakimi on PSG’s first leg win- “We are all together, we are a family”

French champions Paris Saint-Germain will return to the Parc des Princes with the advantage in their UEFA Champions League semifinal after a 1-0 victory at Arsenal on Tuesday.

Ousmane Dembele’s 4th minute strike was enough for the Parisians to escape London with the result, supported by a strong defensive effort. Hosts Arsenal applied plenty of pressure in their search for an equalizer in the first half but PSG held strong. The visitors also continued to be dangerous through the flanks.

Mikel Merino appeared to equalize for the Gunners early in the second half but joyful celebrations were cut short after a long VAR review confirmed that the Spaniard was offsides before heading in a Declan Rice free kick.

Among the players singled out for praise was Morocco national team star Achraf Hakimi. The right back was interviewed after the match by CBS Sports and made an interesting observation about this PSG team:

“I think that the biggest change right now is we are a team. I think the players that play, also the players that didn’t play, we play for each other and we run for each other. We are all together, we are a family.”

“The coach (Luis Enrique) he says: We are like eleven attackers and eleven defenders. So when you see your striker (Dembele, Doue, Kwara) running at the first defender it gives us power to run with them also and be strong together.”

Lauded for his consistency, Hakimi has been at the center of a revolution that has seen PSG transform from Champions League outsiders and underachievers to a team that is respected as perhaps the favorites to claim the trophy. PSG will travel to face Strasbourg on Saturday in Ligue 1 play before hosting Arsenal in the second leg next Wednesday.