Not a one-off – Barcelona captain has cost the team heavily on big nights even before Chelsea debacle | OneFootball

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.

Not for the first time

It is Ronald Araujo who will be scapegoated for the team’s defeat last night for a long time to come. The frustration towards the player, moreover, is completely understandable.

After all, this is not the first time the 26-year-old defender has single-handedly cost the team on a big occasion with his rash decision-making.

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.

Araujo was sent off vs PSG in 2024. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

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.

His errors, moreover, have not just damaged the club in Europe but also against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, where in 2024, he was sent off in Barcelona’s 4-1 defeat.

While his red card on that occasion did indeed come after the damage was inflicted, one is forced to remember how Araujo played Vinicius onside for his second goal and then gave away a penalty for the third goal as well.

The red card was just the culmination of a poor night.

As Barcelona move ahead in the season, it is high time Flick sees Araujo’s error in the grand sense and understands that it is not just a one-off accident for the player to falter under pressure. At this point, the club needs more responsible defenders.