Why Auxerre are so leaky at the back early on

The AJ Auxerre head into their game against Nice on Saturday as Ligue 1’s bottom club, with a worrying snapshot: 11 goals conceded in three matches and still zero points. According to L’Équipe, it’s the first time in 41 years a side has been that porous after the opening three rounds; in 1985, Bastia conceded 12 and were relegated at the end of the 1985-86 season.

A pattern that keeps showing up

L’Équipe notes that even the first Auxerre goal of the season vs Lens (2-5 on 22 August) had a controversy: the arbitration body reportedly said the penalty that led to the goal shouldn’t have been awarded, after a handball by Arthur Piedfort on Florian Thauvin. Still, the overall picture remains brutal. The team are the most punished from set pieces (five times: two penalties and three corners) and they also concede the most big chances (17), the most shots on target (22; 46% of shots faced), plus an xG of 8.78.

The article adds a telling internal metric: Auxerre’s gap between goals conceded and on-target xG is -2.22—second-worst in the league behind PSG (-3.35). That points to more than just “bad luck”.

Individual issues and a collective imbalance

Former defender François Clerc (consultant for Ligue 1+) blames the start on individual shortcomings. He highlights new goalkeeper Mamadou Diop: in his view, Diop is still adapting to Ligue 1 and “doesn’t reassure at all”, sitting at the moment as the least decisive keeper based on the difference between on-target xG and goals conceded. On the right, Lamine Sy has attacking/transition qualities, but Clerc says it’s “more delicate” defensively; Sy is also the full-back with the lowest duel win rate (33.3% among players with at least 20 appearances).

But Clerc’s main point is collective: “attitudes aren’t right”. L’Équipe underlines that set-piece frailty is the symbol of it, with a lack of rigour, aggressiveness and concentration, plus too much imbalance in open play—Auxerre leave too many spaces. In midfield, the absence of Elisha Owusu (now at Erzurumspor per the article) is felt in terms of leadership and impact. The team is also described as looking like it’s playing with too many box-to-box profiles. Finally, midfielder/defender Arthur Piedfort—arriving from Westerlo for €5.5m—is described as being involved in five conceded goals.

With a heavily reshaped squad (11 arrivals, 10 departures), manager Will Still is not panicking. L’Équipe reports him saying there must be “room for improvement”, but that losing three games shouldn’t trigger wholesale changes. He’s also stepped up training (extra workload on Monday and a tough, long session on Wednesday). The article suggests a tactical adjustment could be coming, including the possibility of using Pierre Ekwah (loaned in late August from Saint-Étienne).