Spanish forward Ferran Torres rescued Paris Saint-Germain from a troubled start to their Ligue 1 title defense, scoring twice on his debut to earn the champions a 2-2 draw away to Rennes on Sunday in the opening round of the season.
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PSG appeared headed for a shock defeat after Rennes finished the first half with a two-goal lead. The match was played at Roazhon Park after the champions were forced to play away from home because of the condition of the pitch at the Parc des Princes.
Sebastian Szymanski opened the scoring for Rennes in the ninth minute, with his shot hitting the post before finding the net to give the hosts an early advantage. PSG attempted to respond quickly, with Desire Doue having a goal ruled out for offside.
Seven minutes before halftime, Rennes doubled their lead through Esteban Lepaul, last season’s Ligue 1 top scorer, who converted a low cross from Polish winger Przemyslaw Frankowski to leave PSG facing a difficult second half.
Luis Enrique made two substitutions at the start of the second half, most notably bringing on Torres, who had recently joined from Barcelona. His introduction proved to be the turning point.
Torres needed only 25 minutes to score his first goal for PSG, running in behind the defense after receiving a pass from fellow Spaniard Fabian Ruiz before firing into the net in the 71st minute.
Just 11 minutes later, Torres completed his comeback, rising to meet another cross from Ruiz and heading home the equalizer in the 82nd minute to earn PSG a valuable point after trailing by two goals.
Despite sustained PSG pressure in the closing stages, the champions could not find a third goal, settling for a draw and dropping two points at the start of their league campaign.
Rennes were left frustrated after coming close to securing a major victory over the defending champions. Torres, meanwhile, made the perfect start to life at his new club, turning from substitute to savior and quickly demonstrating his ability to make a difference in high-profile matches.
His impressive debut provides an important boost for PSG, while also highlighting the defensive weaknesses that allowed Rennes to take a two-goal lead in the first half.
