Eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by PSG on Tuesday evening, the Catalans can, for the most part, only blame themselves. Invisible after the equalizer signed Ousmane Dembélé, the Blaugranas paid dearly for their errors, and particularly that of their central defender. Big offender with a red card collected for a bad intervention on Bradley Barcola (29th minute), Ronald Araujo expressed his regrets on social networks this Wednesday.
“The football that gave me so much happiness hits me hard today. I thank everyone who is unconditionally by my side, my teammates who left everything on the pitch, and the supporters who believed in this team until the end. Sorry for not giving you this joy,” the 25-year-old defender apologized.
Author of a solid first leg at the Parc des Princes, he was a key player in central defense. His red card on Tuesday evening, the turning point of the match, allowed the Parisians to wake up after a first goal conceded (12th), and to create many chances. Opportunities that Dembélé, but also Vitinha and Mbappé twice materialized. Xavi, coach of FC Barcelona, complained about the refereeing, believing in particular that his team would surely have qualified by remaining at full strength: “At eleven against eleven, we dominated. (…) We can be proud of ourselves, we lost in a very dignified manner, and on a referee's decision that we cannot control. The expulsion destroyed the match. »