Madrid back in Euro action

Posted Tuesday, September 28, 2010 by PA

Real Madrid resume their Champions League campaign against Auxerre on Tuesday night determined to rediscover their goalscoring touch against the stuttering French side at the Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps.

Although they are still unbeaten under new coach Jose Mourinho with four wins from six competitive games, Madrid are yet to really impress and are surprisingly finding goals hard to come.

Madrid netted over 100 times in La Liga alone last season but they have struck just eight times in the league and Champions League this season.

Creating chances and shooting opportunities has not been a problem for the Spanish giants, but finding the back of the net has and Mourinho, who has started with the attacking quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Mesut Ozil in the last four games, admits it is a concern.

Speaking after seeing his side held to a goalless draw by promoted Levante on Saturday, the former Inter Milan boss said: "We created so many chances, some very good, and obviously I'm worried because you need to score to win.

"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."

Full-back Marcelo is confident Madrid will soon be making the most of their opportunities, though.

The Brazilian told AS: "Our only problem is the ball isn't going in, but there's no need for us to worry because it is just a question of time until the goals come. There needs to be patience.

"Maybe it's not going in for us because we lack a little freshness and calmness. We are training and playing every day and we have almost no time to rest.

"This could be the main reason because up front we have players of undoubted quality and experienced goalscorers."

Madrid will be hoping for better against an out-of-sorts Auxerre as Mourinho's men look to build on their opening Group G win over Ajax - a match in which the Spanish side had countless efforts on goal but could only net twice in a 2-0 victory.

Auxerre are still searching for their first win after seven Ligue 1 matches, with five draws and two defeats - their worst start since the 1986/87 season - leaving them in 17th place in the standings.

At the weekend they were held 2-2 at home by Nancy despite leading 2-0 after 11 minutes thanks to a brace from Dennis Oliech.

"We have to quickly win a game so that we regain confidence," coach Jean Fernandez told www.rmc.fr after the weekend draw.

"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."

Fernandez's side have shipped 10 league goals so far and are yet to keep a clean sheet, and that could be a good sign for goal-shy Madrid, who were knocked out of the competition by French opposition last season as Lyon consigned them to a sixth successive exit at the last-16 stage.

In their first Champions League match, Auxerre lost 2-0 to AC Milan at the San Siro following a second-half brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.