Liam Rosenior lost his last five Premier League games in charge of Chelsea without scoring a goal, and in April the club fired him after 106 days. Seven months later, his Paris FC have won 1-0 at Auxerre and go into the international break third in Ligue 1, with 20 points from 10 games. That is three points behind Paris Saint-Germain, whose Parc des Princes is across the road from Paris FC's Stade Jean-Bouin.

The top of the table is tight. PSG have 23 points after an eighth straight league win, 1-0 against Troyes. Lille have 21 and Paris FC 20, with six wins, two draws and two losses, 17 goals scored and 10 conceded.

A club that finished 11th

None of this was expected. Paris FC came back to the French top flight last season for the first time since 1979 and finished 11th under Antoine Kombouaré. In July the club, which is owned by the Arnault family with Red Bull as a minority shareholder, replaced him with Rosenior on a contract to June 2028.

Rosenior already knew Ligue 1. Before Chelsea, he coached Strasbourg, Chelsea's sister club, and took them to seventh place and back into Europe for the first time in eight years. His Chelsea spell ended with 11 wins in 23 games, and Alonso took over.

Paris FC's sporting director, Marco Neppe, said when he hired him that Rosenior was "a modern, demanding coach and recognised for his ability to help both the players and the team progress."

Sinayoko and Pagis

The clearest sign of that progress is up front. Lassine Sinayoko scored the only goal at Auxerre, his former club, in the 63rd minute, deflecting a Pablo Pagis shot into the net. He didn't celebrate. It was his ninth league goal in 10 games, and it keeps him top of the Ligue 1 scoring chart. He also has five assists. Pagis, who set it up, has just been called up by Zinedine Zidane for France's November games.

It was not a comfortable win. Auxerre had a Cameron Archer goal ruled out for a handball by Oppegård in the 38th minute, and Kevin Trapp saved from Archer in the 77th minute to keep the lead.

Paris FC host Angers after the break, on Sunday, Nov. 22, and PSG go to Nice the day before. Rosenior's new team is three points off first, and the club in first place plays across the street.