After Barcelona’s semi-final defeat against Inter Milan in a tantalizing 4-3 extra time finish in the UEFA Champions League, defender Ronald Araujo felt a sense of disappointment but optimism.
The Uruguay international, who entered the match in the second half in place of Inigo Martinez, found the defeat hard to take, saying, “We are sad, to be honest. We were having a very good Champions League campaign. We had it close, and it slipped away.” as reported by Mundo Deportivo.
Ronald Araujo accepted that mistakes hurt the team in terms of quality.
What Inter did well was make us pay for our mistakes in the back.
“Sometimes, what decides the matches is details. We made mistakes,” he said, though he objected to being singled out as the problem after Inter scored late goals.
“In football, there is such a thing as covering,” he said. Regardless of the setback, Araujo was sure it wouldn’t send Barcelona into a tailspin ahead of their El Clásico match.
“This team has an incredible mentality, and we will go for La Liga,” Araujo said.
Afterward, coach Hansi Flick stressed pride and perseverance in his post-match message.
Ronald Araujo said Flick told the team, “Next year we will fight for the Champions League again.”
When asked if Barcelona needs to improve defensively ahead of next season, he admitted, “We conceded too many.”
Araujo also suggested bad officiating could have factored in this match, alluding to a potential foul on Gerard Martin in the build-up to Inter’s third goal, but added, “We must not excuse ourselves.”
Looking ahead, Araujo expressed his confidence in the current crop of youngsters at Barcelona.
“This generation will win a lot of Champions League titles, they have a lot of talent,” he said.
With their eyes set on domestic and future European success, Barcelona will now need to show their strength of character as they look to bounce back from this cruel defeat.
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