Barcelona Standout Gives Honest Take on Ronald Araújo Red Card Against PSG

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.”