SETTABLOID

Ronald Araujo has sent out a heartfelt message after being sent off for Barcelona against Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League.

The hosts were leading 4-2 when Araujo saw red for a tug on Bradley Barcola who was through on goal. The sending off changed the match with PSG going on to win 6-4 on aggregate.

Araujo had now broken his silence on the incident, admitting he’s been hit hard by the blow and he’s “very sorry” not to have delivered a place in the semi-final for fans.

“Football that gave me so much joy, is now hitting me hard,” he said. “I thank all those who are unconditionally by my side, my teammates who left everything on the field, and the fans who believed in this team until the end. I’m so sorry for not giving you this joy. We’ll try this again. Go Barça, now and forever! God is in control.”

Araujo has come in for a fair bit of criticism for his mistake. Ilkay Gundogan has spoken about the red card and said the defender would have been better to have simply let Barcola go, while Thierry Henry has said he should not have dived in.

Tuesday night’s result was a bitter pill to swallow for FC Barcelona as they lost 1-4 at home to PSG, leading to their elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

The fact that the Blaugrana had an advantage from the first leg in Paris and had further added to that by scoring early last night, only to collapse in the manner they did makes it even more frustrating.

Naturally, the defeat left a bitter taste for the players as was surmised from their comments after the match.

The locker room is devastated

Now, SPORT’s Toni Juanmarti has come forward with a report which describes the mood and the atmosphere in the Barcelona locker room after the knockout from the Champions League.

As per the report, the Barcelona dressing room had collapsed and left feeling devastated after Tuesday night’s outcome against PSG.

The performance in the first leg in Paris last week had reinvigorated the locker room and got them dreaming about success in the Champions League.

With La Liga potentially out of their hands, the players sought success in Europe and the aim was to progress as far as possible in the competition even though they might not necessarily win it.

With caution but with confidence, Barça faced the return leg capable of resisting PSG’s onslaught. The euphoria around them also made imagining themselves in the semi-finals a more realistic exercise.

But after the final whistle last night, the players felt empty. In a matter of an hour’s play, they went from seeing themselves among the four best in Europe to calling the season all but over.

After everything was done, Barcelona stars left the dressing room one by one looking crestfallen. The bitter aftertaste was doubly bitter, because in the end the dressing room already sensed that Xavi’s continuity was much more unlikely after the elimination.

Keep on fighting

While the mood in the dressing room may be at an all-time low, Barcelona players know that they cannot stop fighting, especially with a huge game against Real Madrid coming up in days.

The squad knows that they have to give their all until the end and, above all, secure second place in La Liga, so as to secure a place in the Spanish Super Cup for next season.

Barcelona head coach Xavi branded referee Istvan Kovacs a ‘disaster’ in the aftermath of their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Having beaten PSG 3-2 in the first leg of their quarter-final last week, Barca were favourites to advance to the semi-finals. Their second got off to a brilliant start when Raphinha put them 1-0 up on the night.

However, Ronald Araujo was sent off for the hosts after 29 minutes for hauling down Bradley Barcola on the edge of the box as the last defender. Barcelona pleaded that contact was minimal and fellow centre-back Pau Cubarsi was there to cover him, but the red card stood even after a VAR review.

In the second half, Joao Cancelo conceded a penalty for a late tackle on Ousmane Dembele, while Ilkay Gundogan was denied a spot-kick at the other end after falling under a challenge from Vitinha.

Xavi and goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente also received red cards for continued and angry protestations on the touchlines. In his post-match press conference, the Barcelona boss unleashed his fury towards the referee.

The arrival of Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City in the last summer transfer window was a real coup for FC Barcelona, especially considering their weak financial position.

However, Gundogan’s leadership style is not always easy to bear, as he does not usually bite his tongue when he feels the team has not played up to his expected standards. He publicly criticized his teammates after the loss to Real Madrid earlier in the season, and did so once again after Barcelona were eliminated from the Champions League last night.

Without taking any names, Gundogan clearly made his feelings known on who was responsible for the loss in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, as he clearly mentioned the sequences of play that cost Barcelona the game.

According to Diario AS, as opposed to the situation that happened after his team’s criticism earlier in the season when he had to justify his words in the Barcelona locker room, this time the reaction of the team to his words has not been as forceful. In fact, more than one player has already supported Gundogan’s point of view.

Still, it remains to be seen how the players condemned by the German will react to the criticism in the coming days. Ronald Aruajo, whose red card turned the balance of the game in PSG’s favour, was one of the players clearly criticized by Gundogan, while Cancelo and Lewandowski were also not spared.

Thus, Gundogan’s statements can cause a rift in the Barcelona locker room, and with the crucial La Liga match against Real Madrid just around the corner, the German’s words can cause the team more harm than good, irrespective of his intentions.

Ilkay Gundogan has become a scourge in the Barcelona camp in the face of calamity.

The midfielder does not appear to hold himself back when Barcelona perform poorly on the pitch. Six months ago, he came out quite strongly against Barça’s performance against Real Madrid in El Clasico – something that wasn’t taken well by his teammates.

However, Gundogan did it again last night, publicly criticising Barcelona’s performance against PSG and highlighting the mistakes the team made on the night.

Teammates come in support of Gundogan

While many had raised their eyebrows when Gundogan publicly criticised the team’s performance against Real Madrid, the reaction has mellowed down this time around.

According to Diario AS, many of his Barcelona teammates supported Gundogan’s assessment of the match and had no qualms with the German publicly criticising the team.

Against Real Madrid, Gundogan was even asked to justify his words and provide explanations behind his comments.

This time around, not even a single Barcelona player asked for any justification. Gundogan has not been urged to rectify his statement either.

What’s next?

Gundogan’s entourage maintains that it is the midfielder’s way of speaking – direct and open. And although the midfielder has received support from his teammates, it remains to be seen how others react to the scathing criticism.

Ronald Araujo, in particular, found himself on the crosshair of Gundogan as the German pointed out his mistake that led to a red card.

Araujo is slated to come out with a book next week and it will be interesting to see whether or not he addresses the issue there or opts to settle down the matter.

One thing is for sure – the atmosphere in the Barcelona dressing room is tense right now, which in turn, could hinder the club’s preparation for the highly-anticipated El Clasico this weekend.

Young forward Lamine Yamal was the first casualty for Barcelona after the Blaugrana lost Ronald Araujo through a direct red card in the first half of their 1-4 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The young forward had to make way for veteran defender Inigo Martinez as Xavi decided it was important for the team to shore up the defence with the team being a man down.

It is no secret that the expulsion of Araujo had a significant impact on the Barcelona vs. PSG match, ultimately affecting the outcome of the tie.

Araujo’s absence left a noticeable gap in Barcelona’s defensive setup and disrupted their momentum. By the team he was given his marching orders, the Uruguayan was key to Xavi’s plans.

However, Xavi opted to reshuffle the team, sacrificing a forward to compensate. Among Lewandowski, Raphinha, and the young academy player, the latter seemed the most straightforward choice.

Post-match, emotions ran high and Yamal was visibly emotional, struggling to contain his tears, while Pau Cubarsi, too, was devastated by the unexpected defeat.

The disappointment was palpable, especially considering Barcelona’s advantageous position after the first leg.

Yamal has a promising future ahead, but his competitive drive made him particularly affected by the recent loss against Paris Saint-Germain, compounded by his circumstances.

Following the match, Lamine took to Instagram to share his thoughts. Despite the setback, his message exuded optimism and the determination typical of a competitive athlete.

Football always offers redemption. We’ll bounce back,” wrote Lamine Yamal, accompanied by two hearts—one blue, the other scarlet. He shared four photos from the game, including one capturing his pivotal role in a goal celebration.

The entire Barcelona squad would have been devastated by the match result as everybody expected the team to progress, especially given the advantage they had from the first leg.

Following the events of last night, though, everybody in the locker room needs to keep their heads up and work towards the upcoming away match against Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain pulled off a comeback win over FC Barcelona on Tuesday night at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. After trailing 1-0, the capital club received a lifeline from Ronald Araújo, who was sent off following a foul on Bradley Barcola.

Once Barcelona was playing with ten men, the Parisians took advantage of the situation. Luis Enrique and his team scored four unanswered goals, with Ousmane Dembélé haunting his former team with a goal late in the first half.

Vitinha scored in the 54th minute to level the scoring on aggregate at 4-4 as the Ligue 1 side took a 2-1 lead in the match. Kylian Mbappé scored on a penalty kick in the 61st minute and added the insurance goal in the 89th minute for what would be a 6-4 aggregate score. 

After the loss, İlkay Gündoğan spoke to CBS Sports and vented his frustration, highlighting the Araújo foul that led to their elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

“I think in these crucial moments, you need to be sure to get the ball,” Gündoğan said postgame. “If you don’t get it, and I don’t know, again, if [Araújo] touches the ball or not, you have to stay away.

“I prefer, of course, to concede the goal there or maybe give the striker a one-on-one, even though he played the ball quite far, so I don’t even know if he was able to reach the ball. But give him the opportunity, let our goalkeeper maybe save us, or even concede the goal, to go down one man, get a red card, so early in the game, just kills you.”

PSG are now off to the Champions League semifinal, where they’ll face Borussia Dortmund, whom they’ve already encountered in the group stage this season.

Barcelona’s journey in this season’s Champions League has come to an end at the quarter-final stage thanks to a painful 4-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in Tuesday’s second leg at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium. Barça started the game with a strong team performance and took the lead early on, but a controversial red card after 30 minutes completely changed the game and the tie, and a 10-man Barça side fought hard but couldn’t hold off the visitors as PSG got the goals needed to complete the comeback and advance to the semi-finals.

FIRST HALF

Barça began the second leg with a very similar strategy to last week: the Catalans gave PSG the ball and looked to avoid conceding an early goal, defend deep inside their half with a well-organized structure.

The plan worked as PSG had all of the possession but did nothing with it, and to make things even better Barça took the lead on their very first attack: Lamine Yamal received the ball on the right wing, dribbled past Nuno Mendes with ease and found Raphinha in the six-yard box for a tap-in to put the home team in front.

The home team looked very comfortable in the minutes following the opener, staying organized at the back and looking to control the midfield and get the ball to the forward players in good positions. PSG offered very little threat until a shot by Kylian Mbappé that required a world-class save from Marc-André ter Stegen, but Barça still looked in pretty good shape.

Then at the half-hour mark everything changed: a mistake in midfield led to a pass that released Bradley Barcola through on goal, and Ronald Araujo fouled the French forward just outside the box. The referee deemed it as a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and showed Araujo a straight red card, and Barça were suddenly down to 10 men with a full hour still to play.

PSG were offered a way back in the tie and took full advantage, applying real pressure against a vulnerable Barça defense. Xavi Hernández took off Yamal and replaced him with Iñigo Martínez to reshape the back four, which meant the Blaugrana were a lot less threatening going forward and were fully committed to defending their lead.

But with five minutes to go in the period PSG scored the equalizer: Vitinha found Barcola alone on the left wing and his cross found Ousmane Dembélé at the far post, and the former Barça man smashed it home to make it 1-1. Dembélé nearly scored again just seconds later with a volley that went just wide, and PSG looked ready to take the lead at any moment.

The halftime whistle came to give Barça 15 minutes of relief and a chance to design a second half plan to avoid conceding again, but PSG had all of the momentum and knew they had 45 minutes against 10 men to find the goals needed to turn the tie around. Would the visitors complete the comeback or were Barça about to create yet another heroic Champions League moment against PSG?

SECOND HALF

The second half started as expected, with PSG owning the ball and Barça parking the bus looking for an early goal. Achraf Hakimi forced a good save from Ter Stegen and Fabián Ruiz missed an easy chance after a pass from Mbappé in the first five minutes, and PSG’s goal seemed just a matter of time.

And indeed it was: the visitors took a short corner and the ball came to Vitinha at the edge of the box, and the Portuguese midfielder was allowed plenty of time and space to fire a rocket that found the bottom corner and gave the visitors the lead.

Barça almost responded immediately with a shot from Ilkay Gündogan that hit the post, but the Catalans were dealt a potential knockout blow at the hour mark: João Cancelo fouled Dembélé inside the box, and Mbappé scored the penalty to give PSG a two-goal lead that was enough to send them through.

Xavi Hernández was sent off for dissent shortly before the third goal, so his brother Óscar took charge and sent on Ferran Torres as Barça had a half-hour to find at least one goal to get back in the tie. Robert Lewandowski forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a very good save, and the Catalans had not yet given up as we reached the final 15 minutes.

Xavi and Óscar made one last roll of the dice with two attacking changes that brought João Félix and Fermín López into the fold and moved Raphinha to left-back, and Barça threw caution to the wind looking for a late miracle.

That miracle never happened, and PSG managed to seal the deal at the death: the visitors went on a devastating counter-attack from a Barça corner, and after two monster saves by Ter Stegen the ball fell to Mbappé who found the net for the second time and secured qualification for the Parisians.

The final whistle came to end yet another tragic night in Europe for Barça, but this one doesn’t even begin to compare to Rome, Anfield or Bayern. Barça were the better team for almost all of the first 120 minutes of the tie and probably would have qualified if not for the Araujo red card that changed everything. Barça fought as hard and for as long as they could, but PSG’s talent eventually took over.

This one hurts. A lot. But I’m very, very proud of this team.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsí, Cancelo (Félix 82’); Pedri (Ferran 62’), De Jong (Fermín 82’); Yamal (Iñigo 34’), Gündogan, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Goal: Raphinha (12’)

Red Card: Araujo (29’)

PSG: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Hernández, Mendes; Zaïre-Emery (Ugarte 80’), Vitinha, Fabián (Asensio 77’); Dembélé (Muani 88’), Mbappé, Barcola (Lee 77’)

Goals: Dembélé (40’), Vitinha (54’), Mbappé (pen 61’, 89’)

As the prospect of a place in the Champions League semi-finals loomed, Barcelona welcomed PSG at the Montjuic Stadium, with excitement pulsating through the stands.

The first half undeniably met expectations, as Barça and PSG scored a goal each. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha combined superbly to open the scoring, but the hosts lost momentum after Ronald Araujo clumsily picked up a red card in the 30th minute.

Taking advantage of Barcelona’s reduced personnel, PSG responded strongly with Ousmane Dembele’s strike in the 40th minute.

In the second half, the ghosts of Barcelona’s past came back to haunt them as Barcelona lost their lead and conceded goals in quick succession, halting their dreams of lifting the Champions League trophy.

Ter Stegen: 4/10

Pulled off some good stops in the dying embers of the game, yet shockingly conceded four goals.

He could do little about Ousmane Dembele finding the roof of the net with a great strike. Even so, the German was partially at fault for allowing Vitnha to score from such a distance.

Mbappe’s penalty was well-struck, but Ter Stegen once again could not deliver on a Champions League night.

Jules Kounde: 8/10

The Frenchman continued his excellent run of form as he maturely positioned himself well and came out on top in most 1v1 duels against Bradley Barcola. Kounde’s distribution helped the Catalans overcome PSG’s first wave of pressure, too.

He defended his flank impressively but was let down by his supporting cast in defense.

Ronald Araujo: 3/10

Started the game off strong with good blocks and interceptions. Araujo even instigated the play for Barcelona’s opener with a well-timed ball to Yamal.

However, the Uruguayan put Barcelona in a real pickle with a reckless tackle on Bradley Barcola, which saw him receive a red card around the half-hour mark of the game.

Pau Cubarsi: 6/10

Cubarsi had some unusual errors in possession, but he won a majority of his ground duels and distributed the ball to Barcelona’s wide channels constantly to relieve pressure. Made some great last-ditch tackles as well.

But as Barcelona began forcing themselves in attack more, cracks in defense grew and Cubarsi suffered concealing them.

Joao Cancelo: 3/10

The Portuguese held his own well defending against Ousmane Dembele during the opening stages of the game. But in the 40th minute, he left Dembele vacant on the far post and paid the price as the Frenchman embraced the roof of the net.

Eventually, Cancelo also ended up gifting PSG a penalty, which Mbappe effortlessly converted.

Frenkie de Jong: 5/10

Tasked with winning the ball back as the defensive midfielder, Frenkie had some good moments but lacked the concentration to track his markers, which led to PSG launching some dangerous shots and Vitinha scoring a scorcher in the second half.

Pedri Gonzalez: 6.5/10

Stationed deeper in a double pivot, his defensive work and line-breaking passes in transition were crucial for Barcelona in the first half.

Still, after Araujo’s red card, Pedri’s presence dwindled considerably as Barcelona were largely huddled in a low block. He came off for Ferran Torres around the hour mark.

Ilkay Gundogan: 7/10

Gundogan was unable to impose any influence on Barcelona’s possession as he was mainly used as an option in transition or when the Blaugranes tried to go long.

Still, he was not his usual self on the ball and infrequently won the ball back.

Lamine Yamal: 7.5/10

Yamal suddenly breathed life into Barcelona with a marauding run on the right flank to assist Raphinha’s opener.

However, his promising night was abruptly halted when he was substituted for Inigo Martinez following Araujo’s sending-off.

Robert Lewandowski: 5/10

The Polish talisman failed to replicate his stellar performance from the first leg. Lewandowski looked uneasy against PSG’s pressure and could not find the net despite having a few solid scoring opportunities.

Had a golden opportunity in the second half to find the winner if only he passed to Ferran Torres on his right, but he took the shot on himself which was blocked.

Raphinha: 7.5/10

Raphinha extended his scoring streak against PSG immediately, as the Brazilian popped up in a great position to score the opener from point-blank range.

While he struggled to take on defenders in 1v1 scenarios, Raphinha constantly attempted to eliminate PSG’s last line of defense with his runs off the ball.

Inigo Martinez: 6/10

Filling in for Ronald Araujo, Inigo Martinez was unable to offer assurance in the back-line and was poorly positioned on a number of occasions.

Ferran Torres: 6/10

The Spaniard offered some threat when Barcelona opted to go long and attack in transition but had minimal influence in the front line.