Ferran Torres Saves PSG from Defeat with Historic Brace on Debut

Ferran Torres made an immediate impact at PSG. The Spanish striker, introduced at half-time during the club’s opening Ligue 1 match of the season, scored a brace to erase a two-goal deficit and secure a draw for the defending French champions.

Trailing 2-0 at the interval, Luis Enrique’s PSG looked in trouble for their league opener. Torres first reduced the deficit with a right-footed strike from a through ball by Fabian Ruiz, before doubling his tally ten minutes later with a header, again from an assist by the Spanish international.

This inaugural brace places Torres in very select company in the club’s history. He is only the third Paris player to achieve this feat on his first match with the Rouge et Bleu. Before him, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic — who scored a brace against Lorient in the opening match of the 2012 season — and Patrick Mboma, who struck twice against Vac FC in the Ligue des Champions qualifying round in 1994, had accomplished such a feat.

Following the match, Torres expressed measured satisfaction. “I’m very happy on an individual level. It’s true we wanted to win. We couldn’t, but I think we have great room for improvement and we will get better,” he said. He added: “The draw is not a disappointment, that’s how it is, but I believe it suits us well, to continue improving and to keep the ambition to do better.”

The striker also praised Fabian Ruiz, who provided both assists: “With his quality, we just have to run and put the ball in the back of the net.” He finally paid tribute to Luis Enrique, the manager who orchestrated his signing: “I thank him for recruiting me first. He’s a coach who has always given me a lot of confidence. I hope to repay that confidence.”