"Barcelona's defeat to Chelsea last night at Stamford Bridge has reopened conversations about Ronald Araujo and his knack for letting the team down on big nights. While it is true that the Catalans were not particularly dominant before the defender's sending off, his rash decision and red card killed any hope of a comeback when the scoreline was still within reach. Forced to play more than 45 minutes with a disadvantage, Barcelona never really had a chance against a spirited Chelsea."
"One most recently remembers the team's elimination by Inter Milan in the semifinal of last season's Champions League and how they were within minutes of qualifying for the final before losing 4-3. Araujo, however, failed to keep Francesco Acerbi off the ball by losing a key aerial duel to help the Italian giants equalise the score, and then was caught completely out of position when Marcus Thuram scored the winner for Inter Milan."
"The year before that, the defender was once again responsible for Barcelona's elimination from the Champions League at the hands of PSG, as he took a direct red card even before the half-hour mark to leave the team with just ten men for over an hour. Despite being 4-2 up on aggregate, Araujo jumped into a foolish tackle and had himself sent off, allowing Les Parisiens a golden chance to come back and inflict humiliation on them."
Ronald Araujo received a red card during Barcelona's defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, reducing the team to ten men for over 45 minutes and extinguishing comeback chances. Barcelona were not dominant before the sending-off, but the dismissal left the side unable to compete effectively against a spirited Chelsea. Araujo has a history of costly errors in major matches. He lost a key aerial duel and was out of position as Inter Milan recovered to win 4-3 in last season's Champions League semifinal. He also received a direct red card against PSG while Barcelona led on aggregate, enabling a comeback. Araujo was sent off in the 2024 Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid.
Read at Barca Universal
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