Ilkay Gundogan admitted that Ronald Araujo's red card "killed" Barcelona's chances of qualifying for the Champions League and he was disappointed.
Barcelona were forced to withdraw from European football early after losing 4-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their quarter-finals on Tuesday night.
Spain looked favourites to advance, beating Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg to become the first team to score at home. However, an earlier red card from Araujo changed the game, and soon the La Liga side struggled with 10 men.
The Germany international put the blame on Araujo, saying his offoffs "landed" Paris Saint-Germain a Champions League spot.
"I'm disappointed," Gundogan began. "Very disappointed actually because we were in such a good position. "Not only after the first leg, but after the first goal we scored. Everything was in our hands and we just passed the ball in the easiest way possible. We just passed the ball to PSG and that was the most disappointing part. ”。
'If he fouls him, I think it's a red card. I haven't seen the replay, I don't know. It's hard to say. You know, in critical moments like this, you need to make sure you get the ball. If you don't, I don't know if he touches the ball and you need to stay away. ”。
'I'd rather concede a goal there or give the striker a 1v1. Still, the ball hit far in front of me, so I don't even know if he'll get it. But maybe let our goalkeeper come to the rescue and even concede the ball, because letting a player go down so early will only kill your game. Araujo has publicly thanked the fans who supported him after he received his red card, apologizing for failing to help the team advance.