Ferran Torres PSG debut rescues draw after Rennes lead

Ferran Torres made the kind of start clubs dream about. On his Paris Saint Germain debut, the £42.7m signing from Barcelona scored twice after Rennes had gone 2-0 up, and Paris Saint Germain vs Rennes finished with the champions salvaging a draw.

PSG's half-time change

The move that changed the game came at half-time, when Luis Enrique sent on Torres with PSG already in trouble. BBC Sport's live blog said PSG boss Luis Enrique turned to the debutant with his side facing an opening day defeat.

Torres took the place of Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele and scored in the 71st and 82nd minutes. Those two goals turned a poor opening into a first night that PSG will feel a lot better about than they did at the interval.

Rennes had put PSG under real pressure

Rennes made the better start and were two goals up before the break. Sebastian Szymanski opened the scoring in the 9th minute and Esteban Lepaul doubled the lead before half-time, so PSG were already chasing the match by the time Torres was introduced.

There was a reason the fixture was moved to Brittany. The PSG pitch had been described as severely damaged by heatwaves, and the setting only added to the odd feel of a season opener that had already gone off script.

PSG came in with three wins in their five listed prior matches, while Rennes had three wins in the same span. That made the comeback less about one side arriving in freefall and more about a debutant changing the direction of a match PSG had allowed to slip badly.

Torres also arrived with recent rhythm. He played in all five listed World Cup matches and posted a 6.77 rating in his last listed outing, which fits the way he looked ready to go rather than short of sharpness.

PSG may still have questions to answer after letting Rennes build a 2-0 lead, but Torres gave them a clean story to leave with. The opener now sits as the match where the new signing came off the bench and scored twice in 11 minutes, and PSG will expect a smoother test next time they line up.