Ferran Torres Scores Twice as PSG Rallies for 2-2 Draw at Rennes
The Spanish forward, who scored the winning goal in this summer's World Cup final, came off the bench to net both goals in his Ligue 1 debut after joining Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona a week earlier.
Paris Saint-Germain avoided its first defeat in a Ligue 1 season opener since 2020, but only because substitute Ferran Torres scored twice in the final 20 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw at Rennes on Sunday, according to RFI.
The match was moved from PSG's home stadium, the Parc des Princes, to Rennes' Roazhon Park because of the poor condition of the Paris pitch, Yahoo Sports reported.
Rennes stunned the reigning double European champion by building a 2-0 lead inside the first 40 minutes. Sebastian Szymanski put the hosts ahead with a low shot that went in off the post, RFI reported, and Yahoo Sports said midfielder Adrien Thomasson, playing his first Ligue 1 match for Rennes after joining from Lens, set up the goal. Esteban Lepaul, last season's leading scorer in Ligue 1 with 21 goals, doubled the lead by converting a low cross from Przemyslaw Frankowski, according to Channel NewsAsia.
Torres Delivers Off the Bench
PSG dominated possession, holding the ball 72 percent of the time in the first half, according to RFI, but could not convert its chances. Manager Luis Enrique responded at halftime by substituting reigning Ballon d'Or winner Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for Torres, who had joined PSG from Barcelona a week earlier, along with fellow new signing Mika Godts.
Torres broke through in the 71st minute, beating the offside trap to collect a pass from Spain teammate Fabian Ruiz and score his first goal for the club, according to RFI. He struck again in the 82nd minute, heading in a cross from Ruiz, RFI reported. The two are teammates on Spain's World Cup winning squad this summer, and Torres scored the winning goal in that tournament's final, according to Yahoo Sports.
"The game was difficult, we knew it would be," Torres told the broadcaster Ligue 1+, according to Yahoo Sports. "I just put my hand up then with Fabian's quality, you just have to run and he puts the ball in the right place."
A Near Miss for PSG
PSG nearly completed the comeback. Defender Willian Pacho cleared a header off the goal line late in the match to deny Rennes a winner, RFI reported. The draw leaves PSG as the only top club in Ligue 1 to fail to win its season opener, following a 1-0 loss to Lens in the French Champions' Trophy the week before, according to RFI. Franck Haise, who coached Lens to that 2020 opening-day win over PSG, the club's last opening-match defeat, now manages Rennes. PSG next faces Monaco, Marseille, and the opening match of its Champions League title defense, RFI reported.
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