We won by the minimum, but, as Mou said, we do have six points.  And we didn’t concede any goals, so while I may still not be content with the team’s play, I’m satisfied with this result.

One. The team wore the purple kits for the first time this season.  What did you think?  Side note: here is Karim Benzema modeling the purple kit.  I don’t think he should give up his day job.

I liked them, since purple is one of Madrid’s colors, but it made for some garish color combinations with some of the players’ boots, especially in these two cases.

Two. Meanwhile, Iker was in the all green outfit.  The shirt, the shorts, the socks, the boots, the sign behind him, the grass on the field and the netting of the goal all matched in typical Iker fashion.

Three. The titulares and the banquillo.  How I love this team!

Four. Here’s Arbeloa, Pepe and Sergio Ramos defending Xabi Alonso, after he was taken down with a hard foul.  I love how they all immediately got into the ref’s face.  He doesn’t seem too happy though – he must be the only person who wouldn’t be happy – I mean, if I had these three guys in my face, I’d be laughing from glee.

Five. The wonderful goal from Ángel di María, and the celebration – Ángel making the customary heart with his fingers, Pipita and co. all happy for the goal, and Iker doing his usual touch of el larguero.  Ángel also received congratulations again from his teammates when the game ended.

Bonus Ángel di María, because he scored the winning goal.  Here he is chatting on the bench before the game.

Six. Antonio Adán was the descartado for the game, and had to watch it in the stands with a bunch of old men the rest of Madrid’s delegation.  Poor thing, he must have had to been on his best behavior.  Ricardo Carvalho was also ruled out after tests on one of his ankles showed that he wasn’t in game condition.

Seven. Sergio getting physical with his teammates.  (On the one on the right, the replay cuts off right as Sergio and Iker are giving each other a high five, which is why Sergio looks like a ghost or the fastest human being on the planet).

Eight. Who spent more time doing their hair in the tunnel before the game, Cris or Sergio?

Nine. Two cute little moments: Álvaro being a blowfish and Lass getting all dramatic.

Ten. Cristiano’s pout is adorable.

Eleven. On the left is Cris’ reaction to getting a yellow card.  Not pictured is the thumbs up he also gave to the ref.  On the right is Cris chastising an Auxerre player.  Don’t mess with the hair, he’s saying.

Twelve. Shirtless moments are always good, so here is Mahamadou Diarrá.  Lass is not impressed.  Maybe it was because the substitution was delayed for a few minutes, because Diarrá’s shirt was back in the locker room, as I guess he wasn’t expecting to play.  Of note: as Mahamadou played his first minutes in a CL game this season, he won’t be able to play in the CL with another team should he leave during the winter transfer season.  This means that he won’t be as attractive to prospective clubs.

Thirteen. My favorite Sami Khedira moment from the game.

Fourteen. More Iker.  What happens if he wants to signal the number ten?

Fifteen. Well, at least we now know that what is on Marcelo’s shirt is not any sort of bodily fluid.

Sixteen. The Xabi Alonso pose section™.  This time around, he decided to use a few props as well.

And to paraphrase Pepe Reina, “heridas por su club, heridas por el Madrid!”  By the way, Xabi made 127 good passes.

Seventeen. A pregame hug, and Sergio Ramos still messing around with his hair some 110 minutes later.

Eighteen. Other team news: the entire delegation rushed to the airport after the game, in order to get back to Madrid before midnight, as a general strike was scheduled for today.  They made it.

Team doctor Juan Carlos Hernández sat very still on the bench during this game, after he found out that he has been suspended for two games by Liga authorities after getting himself kicked out of the Levante game.  The club was surprised at the sanction, but does not plan to appeal it.  I hope they have an able substitute and that no players get injured in the meantime!

It looks like the reason that Pedro León found himself in Mou’s bad graces was that he did not follow Mou’s instructions to stay on Asier del Horno in the Levante game.  This of course led to Peter Lion being dropped from the list for Auxerre and Mou’s anger at the subsequent press conference where he was asked about this omission.

At the end of the press conference after the Auxerre game, he sarcastically asked if he could leave, and if they were sure about it.

And the players finally get a day off from training after Mou decided to give them a rest today.  The last day off was Sept. 5, but only those players not on national team duty that weekend had the day off, which means that some of the players have gone about a month without any days off!