Auxerre cruise to… a 5th defeat.

By: Shazback | August 31st, 2007

After brushing aside Metz thanks to a Thomert brace, I’ll sadly admit that Rennes’ 2-0 away win against Auxerre wasn’t the show I was expecting it to be.

Sure, winning makes any game better, but Rennes seemed to not want to be too harsh on an Auxerre side that is already battered black and blue : 1 win, 4 defeats, no draws, 2 goals scored, 11 goals conceded, and the cherry on the cake has to be Maoulida’s feat of missing two penalties against Bordeaux… But Rennes didn’t let Auxerre get any better either, wrapping up the game with two goals within 35 minutes of kick-off, and then just thwarting any attempts Auxerre made to pull back.

Stéphane M’Bia Etoundi got the first goal, with his best asset : his head. Didot lofted in a long free-kick to the far post, where Cheyrou knocked the ball back towards M’Bia, who didn’t miss such a great chance. 15 minutes later, Briand played a one-two with Leroy, and took a great shot from the edge of the box, clinching the second goal that gives the “offensive bonus” in France.

But if the first half was quite good, Rennes’ second half seemed to be a lot more geared towards defence. Wiltord replaced Briand, and it became clear that Wiltord isn’t yet at the top of his form. Not only did he fail to bring the same percussion that Briand did, but he didn’t seem to have the same knack for tricks, flick-ons or through-balls that he showed against Metz. Ok, I’ll come to his defence by saying that playing in front of 7,666 fans that are crying because their side is losing isn’t quite the same atmosphere as playing in front of 24,078 people that are shouting out your name and hoping you get a goal on your début…

Overall, Rennes were the dominant force : more solid at the back, more dangerous up front, and perhaps more involved in midfield. But it was a bit of a game of two halves, with Rennes cruising through the first half, and Auxerre plucking up after the break.

Video :

Also, Jimmy Briand’s goal is one of Sam’s goals of the week. And did anybody else feel that there were a lot of players slipping around in that video?