Ferran Torres continued the impressive start to his Paris Saint-Germain career by scoring the opener as the French and European champions won 2-1 at bitter rivals Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Spain World Cup final hero Torres came off the bench to replace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia just before the hour mark and headed in a Desire Doue cross to give PSG the lead in the 66th minute at the Velodrome.
That brought the game to life, with England midfielder Angel Gomes scoring an excellent equaliser for Marseille on 72 minutes only for PSG captain Marquinhos to win the game for the visitors three minutes later.
The Brazilian defender met a Nuno Mendes cross and had his initial effort saved by Marseille goalkeeper Jeffrey de Lange before bundling in the rebound.
United States star Timothy Weah, a former PSG player, was then sent off for a second booking as Marseille finished the game a man down.
Torres scored PSG’s winning goal in Brest last weekend and now has seven goals in six appearances in all competitions since joining the reigning European champions from Barcelona. He has only started three times.
“We knew that for us it was one of the most important matches of the season. We knew it wouldn’t be easy but we managed to get the victory,” Torres said at full-time, with PSG now up to sixth in the table, five points behind leaders Monaco after five fixtures.
“Now we can go away and play for our countries and disconnect from club football for a bit.”
Torres, whose extra-time goal gave Spain victory over Argentina in the World Cup final in the United States in July, is in the squad as La Roja play their first game since that tournament away to England in the UEFA Nations League next weekend.
Struggling Marseille have now suffered four straight Ligue 1 defeats, and five losses in a row in all competitions. They therefore find themselves in the relegation zone as club football takes a three-week break.
Monaco extended their unbeaten start to the campaign by beating Lens 2-1 on Friday, and the principality side are two points clear at the top of Ligue 1 from both Lyon and Paris FC.
Lyon hammered Rennes 4-0 on Saturday, while Paris FC won 2-1 against Strasbourg.
Lille missed the opportunity to move level on points again with Monaco as they lost 2-1 at Nice on Sunday.
Algerian international Mohamed Amoura got what proved to be the winner for Nice, with Japan’s Ayase Ueda scoring for Lille, his third goal in four games since signing from Feyenoord.
Former Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer scored in a third straight game for Auxerre as Will Still’s team defeated Brest 2-1.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
