Ferran Torres came off the bench to score a late double on his debut as Paris Saint-Germain rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Rennes in their Ligue 1 season opener on Sunday. Sebastian Szymanski and Esteban Lepaul gave the home side a 2-0 lead at half-time but PSG piled on the pressure in the second period and were rewarded with a point.
Rennes led inside nine minutes as Szymanski’s shot went in off the post to provide the perfect start to the season for the hosts. Désiré Doué thought he had levelled for PSG, but his effort was ruled out for offside, and the home side made it 2-0 seven minutes before the break. Przemyslaw Frankowski found space on the right wing and his low cross into the box was turned into the net by Lepaul.
PSG pulled a goal back with 19 minutes remaining as Torres’s clever run beat the offside trap and he collected a Fabián Ruiz pass and scored his first goal for the club since his move from Barcelona. Torres then levelled the scores in the 83rd minute, and again Ruiz was the provider with a cross from the left, as the Spanish duo dragged their side back into the contest but could not help them find a winner.
Atlético Madrid salvaged a 2-2 draw against Villarreal in La Liga despite having defender Robin Le Normand sent off. Giuliano Simeone grabbed his team a draw after penalties from Gerard Moreno and Georges Mikautadze put Villarreal in front following Marc Pubill’s 59th-minute opener for the hosts.
The Atlético head coach, Diego Simeone, brought Julián Álvarez on as a second-half substitute to a chorus of boos from home supporters. The forward walked down the tunnel alone at the end, while his teammates were thanking the Atlético supporters.
Barcelona began their title defence and bid for a third successive crown with a 5-0 victory at Elche as Raphinha and Fermín López scored twice each.
Mohamed Salah scored his first goals for Trabzonspor with a brace in their 2-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir. The former Liverpool forward joined the Super Lig side on a two-year deal at the start of August and made his debut for the club from the bench in their 1-1 draw at Kasimpasa last week. Salah was named in the starting lineup for the clash with Basaksehir and made an instant impact, opening the scoring in the eighth minute.
Basaksehir levelled in the 19th minute when Eldor Shomurodov slotted home from the penalty spot, but Salah restored his side’s lead just three minutes into the second half. His brace was enough to clinch victory for Trabzonspor, who return to Super Lig action on 31 August against Amed SK.
In Serie A, Ruben Amorim started his Milan reign with a 2-1 victory at Torino. The second-half substitute Adrien Rabiot set up Alphadjo Cissè’s 64th-minute opener and then scored himself three minutes later. Ché Adams scored a stunning consolation deep in stoppage time for Torino.
Juventus secured a 1-0 away win against promoted Frosinone, but failed to impress in their opening match of the season.
Juve, who finished sixth last season, secured all three points thanks to Gleison Bremer’s 22nd-minute header. Luciano Spalletti’s side went on to dominate but failed to put the game beyond doubt. The goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, on loan from Tottenham, picked up a leg injury and had to be substituted late on, which nearly cost Juve as Frosinone pressed hard in stoppage time, hitting the crossbar.
Another of the newly promoted teams, Monza, were thrashed 4-1 by the champions, Inter, on Saturday in the season opener. Lecce made a strong start to the season against the third promoted side, Venezia, on Sunday as they defeated their hosts 2-0 courtesy of second-half goals from Olaf Gorter and Tiago Gabriel.
