Gündogan: Araujo red card changed the game and we lost control
Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gündogan said his side had no one to blame but themselves after they squandered a two-goal advantage and lost 4-1 to Paris Saint-Germain to exit the Champions League on Tuesday night.
After winning 3-2 in Paris and taking a 1-0 lead with an early Raphinha goal in the quarter-final second leg, Barca went down to 10 men when Ronald Araujo was shown a red card, before PSG took control of the match.
“Very frustrated. Very disappointed. It really felt like that we had full control of the game. Started with a one-goal lead, and then after 10-15 it just felt like we destroyed ourselves,” Gündogan told TNT Sports.
“Yeah, (the red card changed the game). This is the Champions League. No matter who the opponent is, in such a tie, such an important game, going one man down so early... it’s impossible, then you are out, unfortunately.”
Following Tuesday’s defeat, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez berated referee Istvan Kovacs and said his performance cost the
LaLiga club a spot in the semi-finals.
Kovacs showed red cards to Araujo and Xavi, with five Barcelona players also receiving yellow cards. Gündogan concurred with his manager’s opinion on the referee, saying he should have won a penalty after being tackled by PSG’s Vitinha in the box.
“At half time, (the referee) didn’t have such a bad attitude. I haven’t seen any of the crucial actions on the replay, but it felt like he was very quick on the yellow cards for us,” the German said.
“In the second half, I should get a penalty. He clearly kicks me with his leg. If he doesn’t kick me, I don’t fall. For me, that’s a penalty. That’s what I told him, to at least have a check, and he gave me a yellow card. I don’t know how it looks on TV – maybe my impression is wrong.”
It felt like we had control of the game. Starting with a one goal lead, and then after 10-15 we destroyed ourselves