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Ronaldo the cynosure as Real Madrid take on Ajax

Spanish side in confident mood ahead of away tie
Last Updated 02 October 2012, 18:14 IST

Cristiano Ronaldo is smiling again, Real Madrid are back scoring goals and the side’s stuttering start to the season looks to be behind them as they return to Champions League soccer action away to Ajax on Wednesday.

Jose Mourinho’s side turned the corner in their opening Group ‘D’ match at home to Manchester City two weeks ago when Ronaldo completed a thrilling comeback for a 3-2 win at the Bernabeu which lifted their early-season blues.

The Portugal international’s comments that he was ‘sad’ at the beginning of last month coincided with a poor run of form and two league defeats, the same number they suffered during the whole of last season’s championship-winning campaign
The City comeback, however, has helped to dispel the doubts. Real followed it up with a 2-0 win at Rayo Vallecano and thrashed Deportivo Coruna 5-1 at home on Sunday when Ronaldo netted a hat-trick to make it five goals from his last three outings.

Real have reached the Champions League semifinals for the last two years and the club feel a tenth European title is within their grasp.

Ajax are looking to young playmaker Christian Eriksen to help them improve on a four-match losing streak from the last two seasons against Madrid, when they failed to score a single goal while conceding 12. Without injured Serbian winger Miralem Sulejmani, De Boer is likely to start with the same team that lost their opener 1-0 at Borussia Dortmund.

Mourinho believes it is inevitable that City will win the League one day but the more immediate concern for the English champions is winning their first match of the new campaign on Wednesday.

Borussia Dortmund provide the opposition at the Etihad Stadium looking to build on their 1-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam in their opening Group ‘D’ match while the mega-rich City need to win after losing 3-2 at Real two weeks ago despite leading 2-1 with less than three minutes of normal time remaining.

Group D is the only one of the eight in the first stage comprising four reigning champions and City can ill-afford another slip-up if they are to avoid last season's fate when they failed to advance to the last 16.

Meanwhile, Arsenal face Olympiakos Piraeus with manager Arsene Wenger talking about a defence he says lacks personality and authority.

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(Published 02 October 2012, 18:14 IST)

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