Payet feels liberated after first goal for French club Marseille

Former West Ham and France attacking player Dimitri Payet has said he feels "liberated" after scoring his first goal for new club Marseille since returning to the French football heavyweights last month.

Payet, 29, made his first start since his $31.3 million move as Marseille played Guingamp at home on Wednesday.

"I'm liberated to have scored. It frees me up because, when you're transferred, it's better to be decisive quickly," he was quoted as saying by espnfc.

"This allows me to work calmly. The more the game went on, the better I felt."

"It was good to start a match to see where I was, and it bodes well. I was very keen to quickly rediscover the feeling, in the final pass or with the finish."

Payet, who was phenomenal for West Ham last season and also helped France reached the final of the European Championships, got the second goal from a deflected free kick with 14 minutes left as Rudi Garcia's men won 2-0 to go level on points with fifth-placed Saint-Etienne.

He conceded that the goal was "not the best of my free kicks," but added: "It went in -- that's what will be remembered."

--IANS

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