Ligue 2 2023/24: How Christophe Pélissier has crafted a daunting attacking outfit at Auxerre – scout report

Nine games into the 2023/24 Ligue 2 season, Auxerre — who were relegated from Ligue 1 last term — sit third on the table under Christophe Pélissier; this 58-year-old coach guided Lorient back to the top-flight in 2019/20, with Les Merlus ending that campaign top of the table with the most goals scored in the league.

Hes got off to a positive start in his bid to repeat that feat this term, with Auxerre currently boasting by far the best goals tally (21) in Frances second-tier — seven more than second-best. The Burgundy-based club also boast the highest xG tally (15.95) in Ligue 2 at this stage of the campaign.

So, Pélissiers productive attack has been the driving force behind his sides promotion bid at this stage of the campaign, but how exactly does this attack function?

In our tactical analysis and team-focused scout report, well dive into Pélissiers successful strategy and tactics thus far in Ligue 2 with Auxerre to answer that question.

Ball progression

Auxerre have primarily (and almost exclusively) defended in a 4-2-3-1 shape this season. While in possession, player movement makes it difficult to define a particular formation; theyve primarily lined up similarly to how we see them without the ball — a 4-2-3-1 — as illustrated in figure 1.

The full-backs get wide, typically standing right on the sidelines. At the same time, the central midfield duo will usually stagger their positioning to an extent in order to give the centre-backs better passing options and make themselves a bit more difficult for the opposition to control. Auxerre are then left with four attackers whose ability to find some space in valuable positions theyll also rely on to facilitate their ball progression.

Pélissiers full-backs play a vital role in the progression phase; weve drawn out a typical example of this in figure 1. Its common to see the centre-back play the ball into midfield with the midfielder, then attracting some attention from the oppositions press. This player will typically set up the full-back with a pass played in front of them, allowing the full-back to then drive the team forward into the oppositions half.

Auxerre dont have the most remarkable technical quality in the middle of the park, but thei