Barcelona fans have ripped Ronald Araujo to shreds, holding him accountable for the the final two goals Inter scored in their Champions League defeat.
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Araujo trolled and called the 'Nunez of centre-backs'Barca fans vent their anger at Uruguayan's displayErratic defending cost Catalans a place in UCL finalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Barca fans unleashed their wrath on centre-back Araujo, blaming him for the costly errors at the back which allowed Inter to equalise and eventually find the winner in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at San Siro on Tuesday.
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User @BCNOgi wrote on X: "Araujo is hilarious man. Can't even hate anymore. He just is what he is. [Darwin] Nunez of CBs."
Barca fan @Bri_an2 tweeted: "I hope you guys start appreciating [Andreas] Christensen now. If [Hansi] Flick subbed him on instead of Araujo we would be celebrating right now."
Another user, @agizzlefizzle12, wrote: "Players like Araujo make you hate the sport. The anger boiling inside of me right now isn’t good for my health man."
Real Madrid supporter @RkFutbol was clearly overjoyed at Barca's elimination, writing on X: "Real Madrid should give a guard of honor to Araujo only next Sunday for all his contributions to Real Madrid fans."
Barca fan @Ali400B was proud of every player, except Araujo, adding: "It’s not even about the loss, it’s about how we lost. Every player out there can hold their head high except Araujo. I’ll never forgive him. Lamine [Yamal], Raphinha, Pedri, [Gerard] Martin, Eric [Garcia], they all showed up. The traitor at the back just cost us everything."
Man Utd supporter @UtdEIIis quoted: "Araujo costing Barca in back to back UCLs is nasty work man."
Getty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Araujo was brought on by head coach Hansi Flick in the 76th minute in place of Inigo Martinez, who carried the risk of a second yellow card having been booked early on. Upon Araujo's arrival, the match was delicately poised at 2-2 on the night and 5-5 on aggregate, before Raphinha scored in the 87th minute to seemingly put the tie to bed.
However, it was not to be. Inter did not give up, scoring an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time, as Francesco Acerbi crashed the box and held his own against the physicality of Araujo to slam Denzel Dumfries' low cross past a helpless Wojciech Szczesny. Araujo and Barca's night would go from bad to worse in the 99th minute, as substitute Davide Frattesi was afforded far too much space to slot the winner.
WHAT RONALD ARAUJO SAID
Speaking to (h/t Barca Blaugranes) after the game, Araujo took responsibility for Inter's third and fourth goals, admitting that he should have done better.
“On the fourth goal, I was in front and it was the striker’s luck to place it perfectly in the corner,” he explained. “As for the third goal, I’m obviously very good at one-on-ones and I should have been better.
“But in the end, it’s football, if you cover well, you can also keep those balls at bay. But hey, it’s football, you have to keep your head up and keep moving forward.”
