SOCCER

Araújo: “I lost my rag with Vinicius because he wouldn’t shut up”

One of the unpleasant scenes during Wednesday’s Clasico was when tempers flared between Araújo and Vinicius during the latter stage of the game.

JOAN M. BASCUDiarioAS

Ronald Araújo spoke to Teledeporte after Wednesday’s 0-4 defeat to Real Madrid - a result which saw Barcelona bow out of the Copa del Rey. The defender was involved in one of the tense moments of the match when he and Vinicius had to be pulled apart. He admitted that he was out of order but it’s nothing personal with the Madrid winger.

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What happened? “We’re sad. We really wanted to have a shot at another trophy but our game dropped a lot after we went 0-2 down. We played well in the first half but they hit us on the break and scored. We’ve got to pick ourselves up and go for LaLiga, which is the most important thing”.

How’s the mood in the dressing room? “Sad. We lost to the eternal rival and that’s always tough. Now we have to change our mindset, get over it and move on”.

Does the defeat hurt more because of the result? “Sure, of course. Losing to Madrid always hurts, but we have to bounce back. The objective is the league and we’re going to focus on that”.

What happened between you and Vinicius? The duel between you in the first leg was much more respectful... “I lost it a bit because he was talking to people non-stop. He’s a great player, but he should concentrate on playing. If he just dedicates himself to that, it’ll be much better for him. I always try to respect everybody, but tonight I lost my rag a bit because he wouldn’t shut up and kept looking at everyone...”.

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