Barcelona defender was far from his best against Chelsea even before the red card – Analysis | OneFootball

Not many FC Barcelona players would have boarded the flight back from London with much to show, but the one with arguably the worst night of all was captain Ronald Araujo, who had a disastrous performance.

When the Uruguayan defender was sent off in the first half, he hardly had it in him to contest the decision. He calmly handed the armband to Frenkie de Jong and walked off the field, a broken man.

Even before the red card, statistics highlighted by SofaScore showed that Araujo was far from his best and was struggling with the defensive duties that are normally seen as his greatest strengths.

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Araujo lost both of his attempted ground duels against Chelsea, despite the Blues having few physically imposing players in their forward line.

The South American also lost possession four times, twice in his own half, and was dribbled past once. He committed one foul that turned out to be his final action of the night, clattering into Cucurella despite already being on a yellow card.

From being one of the most dependable defenders of FC Barcelona during his early years, Araujo now looks short of confidence and authority, and it feels as though he has reached a point of no return. It remains to be seen what the future holds for him in a Blaugrana shirt.