UEFA Champions League FT Report: AJ Auxerre v Real
Madrid - Madrid dominate but leave it late to win
Real Madrid travelled to France to participate in their Champions League fixture against the relative minnows Auxerre. Madrid are currently still unbeaten under Jose Mourinho and so far have won four out of six games in all competitions.
Mourinho’s Madrid, uncharacteristically for the manager, has been performing at a very exciting pace and with an upbeat tempo. However they have just not been finding the back of the net as often as they should be. Mourinho, who
was well aware of this, was caught saying, “There is no problem tactically, but we aren't scoring. It's not due to the quality of the players because we all know they are players with lots of goals in them, but at this moment we can't score. That's my only
concern.”
Mourinho was strongly hoping that his star players would find their shooting boots and get some goals on the scoreboard for a change.
Madrid's opponents on the night, Auxerre, have been currently suffering the worst start to a season since 1986. They had failed to win a game after seven league matches and were also misfiring on all cylinders. The team’s manager,
Jean Fernandez, was aware of the test his side was going to face when Real Madrid would visit them and was reported to have said over the weekend, “I am a little worried about what we saw tonight and at the start of the season. If we play defensively against
Real as we played tonight, it will be difficult for AJA.”
The home side was looking for a little bit of luck to try and get something out of a game, where they had already admitted defeat before the first second had even been played.
The match kicked off with Real Madrid looking to dominate possession from the very first few seconds of the match.
However Madrid just couldn't seem to find the finishing touch in front of goal like they would have wanted to. After a handful of chances early on, the player who came closest to scoring was Gonzalo Higuain. The striker received
the ball in the area, pulled off a wonderful drag back and took a snap shot at goal. He had the keeper beaten, but the defender at the far post just happened to be standing in the right spot to clear the ball off the line.
As the match progressed, Madrid created numerous other chances. The surprise package on the night was Lassana Diarra, who was playing in a much more attacking role then he was used to. Also, with the player playing so high up front,
his lack of ability to shoot also came into play. The midfielder had at least three decent chances to score but failed to capitalize.
On the other hand, the other player who seemed to be misfiring was Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo displayed some immaculate control and dribbling ability, but seemed to lack that 'X' factor that makes him the player that he is. He
also missed a free header which just added to his frustrations on the night.
Auxerre also had their chances on the counter. With almost everyone from Madrid playing in the opposing half, all Auxerre could do was hit Madrid on the counter. They came close on a few occasions, but their poor control and lack
of star quality let them down. They were however almost handed a life line by Real Madrid defender Pepe, who managed to head the ball against his goal post in the seventy eighth minute while trying to keep out a cross.
The game was eventually decided though thanks to the second half substitute, Angel Di Maria.
A long ball was floated into the home team’s box and Di Maria snuck in from the far post to chest the ball down before volleying it with power beyond the keeper, who didn't even move till after the ball bounced off the inside of
the net.
After the goal was scored, Madrid went into an ultra defensive mode for the last ten minutes and managed to successfully run the clock out.
With this win, Madrid are now sitting pretty atop group G.
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