Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan was critical of his teammate Ronald Araujo following his red card which played a part in their UEFA Champions League elimination at the hands of PSG.
Barcelona went into the game with an advantage from the first leg and then opened the scoring to get a two-goal aggregate lead.
However, one rash moment from Araujo led to his sending-off, giving PSG a numerical advantage at the Montjuic Stadium. And the Parisians made the most of it to score four goals and dump Barça out of the competition.
Gundogan critical of Barcelona mistakes
Speaking after the game, Gundogan said: “This is the Champions League. No matter the opponent, it’s impossible to come back if one of your players is sent off. We are very disappointed. We felt we were in control of the game before the red card.
“If it’s a foul, it’s a red card. It’s hard to say, but in these crucial moments you have to be sure you can get the ball back. If you don’t get the ball, and I don’t know if he touches it or not, you have to let it go. I prefer to concede the goal or leave the striker with a one-on-one.”
“Going a man down because of the red so early in the game kills you,” he added.
The German international also criticised the team for being passive leading up to Vitinha’s goal in the second half, as he said:
“It was a mistake again. I think we had to come out and not let him take it. He was on his own. It’s not something we haven’t trained for. The player closest to the ball has to come out.
“It was three on three in the corner and Vitinha was the fourth man and someone had to come out. Nobody did, or they did it too late. It was a good shot and it was the second goal. It was an unnecessary goal, but now it’s too late.”
Gundogan feels he deserved a penalty
There was a contentious moment in the second period when Gundogan went down in the PSG box under pressure from the opposition defenders and asked for a penalty but the referee did not pay any heed.
Speaking about it after the game, the former Manchester City captain insisted that he felt he deserved a penalty, saying:
“I think I deserved a penalty. I was running and the opponent clearly blocked me. I told the referee it was a penalty and instead I got a yellow card.”
Summarising the feelings of himself and the team after what went down last night, he added:
“We were in a good position. Not only because of the first leg, but also because we scored the first goal. Everything was in our hands but we let it slip away in the easiest way. We gave it away to PSG. That’s the most disappointing thing.”
