Paris FC took two-thirds of the ball and one goal at Auxerre

Paris FC beat Auxerre 1-0 with Lassine Sinayoko's 63rd-minute goal, while the home side's defence conceded only once.

Paris FC had two-thirds of the ball at Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, and that is the part that ran against the usual pattern. Possession, the share of time a side keeps the ball, reached 66%, where Paris average 50.2% on their travels. Holding the ball is one thing, but the more useful question is what they did with it, and the answer is less than they usually manage.

The only goal came in the 63rd minute. Lassine Sinayoko finished after a pass from Pablo Pagis, who also made three key passes, the ones that lead directly to a shot. Auxerre had a goal of their own cancelled earlier, when Fredrik Oppegard's effort in the 39th minute was ruled out by VAR, the video check used to review decisions.

Auxerre were the side with the ball in less of a hurry to attack, and their chance count shows it. Expected goals, or xG, rates each chance by how often similar ones go in, so a total of 1.0 roughly equals one certain goal. Auxerre finished on 0.75, below the 1.18 they average at home and under the league figure of 1.41 per side. They also took seven shots, against a home average of 10.7, and only two of them were on target.

Paris FC's chances were down too, though less sharply. They produced 0.94 xG, short of their away average of 1.6, and took ten shots, well below their usual 13.3. Six of those shots came from inside the box, the area closest to goal, which is where most goals are scored from. Ten shots is also under the league average of 12.7 per side, so the visitors won without a big chance count.

The more striking figure belongs to Auxerre's back line. They conceded once, against a home average of 2.6 goals, so the defence did more than usual. Their goalkeeper, R. Faivre, made two saves and the rest of the work was done in front of him. Paris kept a clean sheet, which was also a step up on their away average of 1.1 goals conceded, and the goalkeepers on both sides had two saves each.

At the top of the table, Paris FC are fourth with 17 points from nine matches, built on five wins, two draws and two defeats away from home. Auxerre sit 14th with 10 points from nine, having won three and lost five at home this season. Those are the figures that frame the result, and neither side is far from where the season has left them.

Paris FC's record now reads five wins, two draws and two defeats, and that is the number the table will carry from this afternoon's journey.

Player of the matchL. Sinayoko1 goal7.7

P. Pagis1 assist7.7

M. Lopez2 duels won7.2

D. Coppola1 shot on target7.1