Thibaut Courtois has lauded the incredible performance of Achraf Hakimi in their semifinal defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup.
The Spanish giants suffered a 4-0 defeat against the European champions on Wednesday night.
“When I watch the game again,” Courtois said post-match, “I see we gave Hakimi too much space. We weren’t pressing well as a unit, and that hurt us.”
Hakimi exploited it with glee, popping up behind lines, dragging defenders wide, and linking neatly with Ousmane Dembélé, who received warm praise from Courtois too.
“I told him after the game that he presses too much. It gives you no time to think,” said the Belgian keeper. “We need to press better together. Today, it just wasn’t there.”
“We were a bit off the pace,” Courtois admitted. “At speed, they beat you. When you’re spread out on the pitch with so much space, against a team like them, it’s difficult.”
The Belgian goalkeeper was helpless when Ousmane Dembele capitalised on a defensive error and found Ruiz for his sixth minute opener.
Dembele was then alert to Antonio Rudiger’s miss-timed pass to double the Parisians’ lead with just nine minutes played.
The game was all but over on 24 minutes when Ruiz finished a scintillating PSG move which left their opponents chasing shadows.
PSG had the final say as they hit their opponents on the break and Goncalo Ramos steered home a fourth goal with three minutes remaining.
PSG will face Chelsea in the Club World Cup final on Sunday at the MetLife Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 19:00 GMT.
