Payet, 29, made his first start since his £25 million move as Marseille played Guingamp at home on Wednesday.

And the France international 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.

Payet, who forced a move from West Ham after saying he would not play for them again, suggested the goal would help him put his acrimonious departure behind him.

"I'm liberated to have scored," he told reporters. "It frees me up because, when you're transferred, it's better to be decisive quickly.

"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."

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