"Time to continue and look forward positively" - Barcelona legend sends message to Ronald Araujo after his sending off in loss to PSG
Barcelona legend Luis Suarez has sent a message to Ronald Araujo after the center-back was sent off in their clash against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The Blaugrana's loss in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg on April 16 could be directly traced to the 25-year-old's red card.
Barca were already in control of the tie, having already secured a 3-2 win in France a week prior, and they started the second leg in very similar fashion. Raphinha opened the scoring early on with just 12 minutes on the clock. They seemed prepared to kick out the Parisians, sitting two goals up on aggregate at home.
However, a counterattack saw Bradley Barcola drive towards the area with a goalscoring opportunity at hand for PSG, and Araujo decided to pull him down. The referee didn't hesitate with the red card, and immediately, the game's balance was in the lurch, as the French giants had more men and more reason to attack.
The red card came in the 29th minute, and by the 40th minute, former Barcelona player Ousmane Dembele opened the scoring for the visitors. Only minutes after the second half started, Vitinha put the Parisians level on aggregate. They didn't stop their consistent attacks and it eventually paid off as Joao Cancelo poorly tackled Dembele in the box, giving the visitors a penalty.
Kylian Mbappe converted on the hour mark to put PSG ahead of Barcelona on aggregate. In the 89th minute, he scored another to seal the Blaugrana's exit. However, their exit seemed set in stone with the red card on Araujo that put everything in the lurch. The center-back will hardly be in fine spirits after the defeat, but he has received a message from Luis Suarez.
The Barcelona legend told his fellow Uruguayan after the PSG match (via Barca Universal):
“Let’s go Ronald! We know that on the field we always want to give the best and try to help our team. The beautiful thing about football is that it always gives you a chance for revenge. Now is the time to continue and look forward positively. A big hug."
PSG, meanwhile, will next face Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.
Xavi Hernandez questions Ronald Araujo red card in Barcelona's Champions League exit in the hands of PSG
Referee Istvan Kovacs showed Ronald Araujo a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity with only 29 minutes played in the game. This did not please manager Xavi Hernandez, who also received a red card later in the game for showing his frustrations.
He said to the press afterward (via Eurosport):
"We are leaving upset, furious, because I think that play defines the tie. When we played 11 against 11, I believe we were well positioned defensively. There's another tie from that play onwards. It was too much to show a red card in that play. It's not good for football to be left with 10 players, and there's another game there."
The Barcelona manager will soon have to set aside his frustrations around the UEFA Champions League and focus on their La Liga clash with Real Madrid this weekend. They travel to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday (April 21), trailing Los Blancos by eight points atop the La Liga standings.