Ferran Torres Leads PSG to First Ligue 1 Victory

Ferran Torres struck early and Paris Saint-Germain finally looked like champions again.

A crisp, fifth‑minute finish from the Spain forward earned PSG a 1-0 win away to Brest on Sunday, their first Ligue 1 victory of the season after a strangely flat opening to the campaign.

Luis Enrique’s side had stumbled out of the blocks with just two points from their first three league games. In Europe, though, they already looked like their ruthless selves, smashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 in midweek to launch their bid for a third straight Champions League crown. Four days later, it was Torres who carried that European swagger into Brittany.

Torres keeps blazing

Signed from Barcelona in the close season, Torres arrived in Paris with a World Cup-winning goal for Spain on his CV and the reputation of a man for big moments. He has wasted no time backing it up.

After a midweek hat-trick, he produced another moment of pure class at the Stade Francis-Le Blé. Ousmane Dembele, the Ballon d’Or winner, flicked a clever backheel into his path, and Torres did the rest.

Striding onto the ball just outside the ‘D’, he opened his body and passed it into the bottom corner, beyond Egil Selvik’s dive. One touch, one look, one ruthless finish.

That made it six goals in five games in all competitions for PSG’s new No. 9, a blistering start in a new league for the 26-year-old.

“What matters to me is always helping the team, regardless of how much playing time the coach decides to give me, and doing my part. Whether that's through goals, assists, or my work on the pitch,” Torres said afterwards, his numbers now matching his words.

The result lifted PSG up to eighth, level on points and record with Brest, who had been unbeaten before kick-off.

A night of emotion in Brest

Before a ball was kicked, Brest paused to remember former coach Eric Roy, who died in June at 58 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The tribute set a poignant tone in a packed, restless stadium that wanted more than just ceremony from the night.

Once the whistle went, they got a game with edge.

PSG, buoyed by that early goal, pushed for a second. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia went close in an open, entertaining first half as Brest refused to sit back and absorb punishment.

The champions, though, were dealt a blow just before the interval. Achraf Hakimi, Morocco’s captain and a key outlet on the right, limped off and had to be replaced by Fabian Ruiz, a midfielder asked to plug a defensive gap.

Brest hit the post, PSG hang on

The warning signs for PSG flashed bright just after the restart.

Five minutes into the second half, Nuno Mendes carelessly played the ball across his own area straight to Kamory Doumbia. With only Matvey Safonov to beat, Doumbia drilled his shot past the keeper but not the frame of the goal, the ball cannoning back off the post. The stadium groaned; PSG breathed again.

Two minutes later, Brest thought they had their reward anyway when the ball was turned into their own net by the visitors, only for the referee to rule it out for a push by Warren Zaire-Emery that had forced the mistake. Relief for PSG, fury in the stands.

Brest kept coming. PSG, so slick in Europe, now had to scrap.

Safonov took centre stage late on. Pathe Mboup’s low effort looked destined for the far corner, but the Russian goalkeeper flung himself down and got just enough on it to tip it wide of the post. It was the save that secured the points and, perhaps, PSG’s first sense of domestic control this season.

Ethan Mbappe answers back

Earlier in the day, another storyline unfolded at the top of Ligue 1.

At Lille, Ethan Mbappe stepped out from under the shadow of his surname and his own midweek mistake. Sent off on Wednesday in a 3-2 home defeat to Real Betis for elbowing an opponent in the Champions League, the 19-year-old walked back into the spotlight with a different script.

Coming off the bench against Troyes, he struck in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win, adding to a first-half opener from Portuguese full-back Tiago Santos. It was his first goal since December.

Mbappe’s celebration was muted, an apology to the supporters for that red card. The goal, though, carried weight: it pushed Lille above Monaco and Rennes on goal difference and into first place.

“He came to his senses after his red card and showed maturity beyond his years; he took responsibility for his actions,” said Lille coach Davide Ancelotti. “This week has been very important for him personally, helping him to grow as a player and as a person. As for his qualities, he certainly has them – he showed that again today.”

Under Ancelotti, son of Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti, Lille have taken 10 points from a possible 12. A new coach, a fast start, and a teenager trying to write his own chapter in a famous family story.

Lens feeling the strain

Not everyone near the top last season has found the same rhythm.

Lens, surprise title challengers last year, are discovering that repeating the trick is harder than making it the first time. Their European nights still sparkle – a 3-2 Champions League win at Slavia Prague on Thursday and a victory over PSG in the French Champions’ Trophy last month underline their pedigree.

The league table tells a different story.

A 2-2 draw away to newly-promoted Le Mans on Sunday left them with just four points from four matches and sitting 10th. For a team that pushed so hard last season, it is an awkward start, one that raises the question every ambitious club faces: was last year a launchpad, or a peak?