Expectations from the AJ Auxerre vs. Real Madrid match
The Champion’s League draws proved to be a bitter pill for AJ Auxerre’s as they face stiff opponents AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax in the days to come.
However, Jean Fernandez’s side is confident who feels it is well equipped for a big scalp against the ‘Los Meringues.’
After their opening match, AJ Auxerre is feeling fairly confident and hopes to overcome their tough opponents, who till now, have settled into the season.
AJ Auxerre has done well in the playoffs as they defeated the big spending FC Zennit St. Petersburg but their domestic seasons have been a bit in the spoils.
Auxerre suffered two defeats and 5 draws in their 7 league one fixtures which seems quite strange as it should have been the other way around.
The same negligence was shown on their home game against Nancy, although they had a good opening half, courtesy of two goals from Dennis Oliech. The team was unable to capitalize from this move as the score remained at 2-0 till the end of the game.
The team faces an even sterner test against Real Madrid on Tuesday but Fernandez is taking the Champions League for granted as he commented on the matter by saying that he wants to focus on the rest of the league season.
In a press meeting, he flagged up weaknesses in his previously impenetrable defences which the boss claimed were present because of particular anxieties amongst his players.
In their 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid at San Siro, the squad put up a good fight as they were presented with quite a few chances. This gives the Spanish side something to think about before Tuesday’s meeting with AJ Auxerre.
Real Madrid, though still unbeaten, needs to prove themselves under their new coach José Mourinho. As their away meeting with Levante UD resulted in a draw, leaving them with a lot of questions, this allowed Barcelona to take the lead in the Primera Division
crown.
In their five domestic matches, Real’s ‘Arsenal consisting offense’ has only scored 6 goals which many consider to be a dismal effort.
Though they have conceded only one goal, Mourinho thinks they have lacked the typical Madrid cutting edge that the team is lacking at the moment.
After watching his side shut out for the third time this season, Mourinho was forced to comment that they had missed to capitalize on the given opportunities and the attacking opposition played them well.
A win by ‘Los Blancos’ against Ajax could be considered as their best effort for this season till date in the Champions League. However, even on this occasion, errors could have been avoided as they only managed to finish the match with a 2-0 victory.
A 71st minute strike by Gonzalo Higuain, assisted by an own goal by Ajax, helped Madrid power through in the game.
Most probably, Mourinho will shuffle his side with Benzema on the attack against the stiff AJ Auxerre defences. But if this does not work, then the Portuguese manager will be left with many questions to answer.
TEAM NEWS
Auxerre
Ireneusz Jelen, AJA’s Polish forward, had to be benched in last week’s encounter due to a knee problem. Luckily, Fernandez has covered his spot with another ‘show piece player’.
Meanwhile, Anthony Le Tallec is going to miss out too because of a broken ankle, and another long term absentee to make his mark will be emerging young striker Yaya Sanogo.
News of Jeremy Berthod being fit to return to the squad might be balanced by news about Jean-Jean-Pascal Mignot’s problems, which will help keep him out.
Real Madrid
Pedro Leon has been over looked by the coach despite his recent excellent cameo performances.
While Raul Albiol and Fernando Gago have been training lightly, both players are fighting to overcome injury problems. On the other hand, Kaka, Sergio Canales and Ezequiel Garay will be benched for the time being.
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