Paris Saint-Germain came from a difficult evening at the Vélodrome to beat bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille 2-1 in Ligue 1 on Sunday, with substitute Ferran Torres once again proving the decisive figure. The result leaves Marseille deep in trouble, while PSG begin to find their footing after a slow start to the French domestic campaign.

Marseille head coach Bruno Genesio had set his side up in a deliberately compact, defensive shape, aiming to soak up pressure in front of a raucous home crowd and strike on the counter. The plan nearly worked: PSG dominated possession in the first half without creating much of note, and Marseille came close to taking the lead themselves in the 39th minute, only a poor pass from Neal Maupay preventing what could have been a breakthrough. In the second half, PSG intensified their pressure — shots from Joao Neves, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia all failed to beat goalkeeper Jeffrey de Lange — before Torres entered the fray just before the hour mark, replacing Kvaratskhelia.

The impact was immediate. Torres, a Spanish international who scored the extra-time winner for Spain against Argentina in the World Cup final in the United States last July, headed in a Désiré Doué cross from the left to give PSG the lead on 66 minutes. Marseille responded quickly, with England midfielder Angel Gomes producing a moment of individual brilliance to equalise on 72 minutes. But the joy was brief: PSG captain Marquinhos, the Brazilian centre-back, stayed high after a corner and bundled in the rebound after his initial effort was saved, restoring the visitors' lead just two minutes later. American winger Timothy Weah, a former PSG player, was then sent off for a second yellow card, leaving Marseille to see out the final minutes with ten men. Winger Igor Paixao also limped off with an injury.

Torres, who joined PSG from Barcelona this summer, now has seven goals in six appearances in all competitions, despite having started only three matches.