Barcelona duo to schedule meeting to address differences following UCL knockout against PSG - Reports
Barcelona teammates Ilkay Gundogan and Ronald Araujo have scheduled a meeting to address their differences in the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) clash. This comes after Gundogan's comments where he lashed out at Araujo for picking up a red card as Barca were knocked out of the Champions League by the French giants.
The Blaugrana won the first leg of the semi-inal knockout round at PSG 3-2. they needed to avoid defeat at home to go through and got themselves ahead 4-2 on aggregate.
However, everything turned on its head after Ronaldo Araujo picked up a red card for pulling down Bradley Barcola, who was running onto a clear goalscoring opportunity. Barcelona played the rest of the game with 10 men, and PSG went on to score four goals and secure their seat in the semifinals.
Gundogan reacted afterwards, talking about Araujo's red card with the press. He said (via GOAL):
"You know, in these kind of crucial moments you need to be sure to get the ball. If you don't, and again I don't know if he touched the ball or not, you need to stay away. I would prefer to concede a goal there or give the striker 1v1... to go a player down so early on just kills your game."
When Ronald Araujo was asked about Gundogan's comments, he responded to Diario AS (via Football Espana):
“I prefer to keep what I think to myself. I have codes and values that must be respected.”
According to SPORT (via Football Espana), the Barcelona midfielder is said to be surprised that his comments have caused controversy. The report has revealed the midfielder's feelings, noting that he had not blamed any player for the loss.
The report went on to add that the duo have decided to meet and have a conversation about the situation before they face Real Madrid in La Liga this weekend.
Xavi Hernandez slams red card decision in Barcelona's loss to PSG
The referee showed red o Ronald Araujo, but manager Xavi Hernandez showed his displeasure. The Barcelona manager got a red card himself and left the pitch.
Later, he made it clear to the press that the red card to Araujo should not have happened (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."
Following the PSG defeat, Barcelona take on Real Madrid - who were victorious in the Champions League - on Sunday (April 21) in La Liga.