Ultimately, their tie against Intercity will live long in the memory as a spectacle rather than a Copa del Rey upset. Yet Barcelona augmented concerns that they are not firing on all cylinders as they head into a decisive stretch of the season.
Speaking after the match, Ronald Araujo highlighted what he felt was a recurring problem for the Blaugrana.
“Football is like that, the Cup we won (2021) always went to extra time. It should serve us to learn from it and correct things.”
“We have to know how to kill the games, not thinking that we have won it. It already happened to us against Espanyol.”
“We got ahead very quickly on the scoreboard and conceded a strategic goal that was their weapon. The Cup is like that.”
After 103 days out, the return of Araujo is good news in of itself for Barcelona. While he was at fault for Intercity’s first equaliser, the Blaugrana looked far more open when he went off. MD carried his post-match comments.
“Happy to return after a lot of suffering” and “have good feelings,” spitfired Araujo.
“I hadn’t played for a while, I wanted to come back as soon as possible. I couldn’t play the World Cup, which was what I wanted the most, and the game was a final.”
At the very least, the defender and his manager are on the same page, with Xavi Hernandez criticising their inability to put the game to bed too. It is the fifth time that Barcelona have gone ahead and conceded an equaliser this season.
