Barcelona, Spain — Barcelona don suffer another heavy blow for UEFA Champions League as dem lose to Inter Milan on Tuesday for di semi-finals. The elimination don put spotlight on Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo after he make critical errors during di match.
Araujo enter di pitch to try and seal di game, but he mis-position na di two goals wey Inter score to take di game into extra time and later win am. For di mixed zone post-match, Araujo express dissatisfaction with im performance around di two plays wey Inter take advantage of.
Just one day after dis bitter elimination, a video don go viral from last year wey show former PSG coach Luis Enrique analyzing Araujo ahead of PSG clash with Barcelona during di quarter-finals of UEFA Champions League 2023-2024. In dat encounter, PSG lose 3-2 for home but turn dem comeback with a mighty 4-1 victory in Barcelona.
Enrique talk for a casual chat: ‘How we go allow Barcelona attack us? No doubt, dem go play long ball. We pressure dem: long ball. We allow Araujo carry di ball. When he carry di ball and release am, we go pressure.’ This shows how he identify di flaws in Araujo’s game – a player wey everyone know as high-level, but him get weaknesses too.
For one instance, during di match against Barcelona wey Araujo become part of PSG’s game plan, he struggle. At 29 minutes, with Barcelona leading 1-0, Araujo receive di ball poorly and gave a bad pass. PSG go long to pounce on Araujo’s error, leading to dem scoring. Di final score reflect say PSG win 4-1.
This na di second consecutive UEFA Champions League wey Araujo don become scapegoat for Barcelona as he remains a key figure and captain of di team. Dem need to rethink strategies going forward to avoid further heartbreaks in di future.
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