Substitute Ronald Araujo delivered a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Barcelona edged Verona 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday, ending a short shedding streak and restoring confidence forward of subsequent week’s Clasico. at Actual Madrid.
The Uruguayan defender — despatched on within the 82nd minute as an emergency ahead — produced the instincts of a striker to safe all three factors. Sprinting to the close to publish, Araujo slid in entrance of his marker to deftly redirect Frenkie de Jong’s low cross previous Paulo Gazzaniga, sparking wild celebrations on the Olympic Stadium.
Moments earlier, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick had been despatched off after receiving two fast yellow playing cards for protesting the referee’s choice so as to add solely 4 minutes of stoppage time. His dismissal means he will probably be absent from the touchline for his first Clasico as Barca supervisor subsequent weekend.
Flick’s daring choice to push Araujo ahead got here along with his assault depleted — Robert LewandowskiRaphinha, and Ferran Torres had been all sidelined by means of damage. The gamble paid off. “I’m actually comfortable for Ronald as a result of he at all times performs along with his complete coronary heart for this workforce,” Flick stated post-match. “I requested him if he may assist in assault — and he did not hesitate.”
Araujo echoed his coach’s sentiments, praising the workforce’s resilience. “We knew we had been coming from two robust losses, however with starvation and onerous work, we turned it round,” he stated. “Girona made it troublesome, however we fought till the very finish.”
Barcelona’s dedication was evident from the start. Pedro Gonzalez Opened the scoring within the thirteenth minute with a second of brilliance — a blind, angled end that rolled contained in the close to publish. However Verona struck again rapidly, as Axel Witsel acrobatically leveled seven minutes later, volleying house a free ball with an excellent bicycle kick previous Wojciech Szczesny.
The guests had been the extra harmful facet for a lot of the primary half. Cristian Portu hit the publish, Bryan Gil squandered a golden alternative from shut vary, and Witsel got here inches from a second. Solely Szczesny’s sharp saves stored Barcelona within the contest.
Within the second half, Gazzaniga denied efforts from Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford earlier than lastly being overwhelmed by Araujo’s decisive contact. Verona coach Michel Sanchez admitted the defeat was onerous to take: “Within the remaining minutes, they may solely threaten with crosses — we cleared two, and the third one went in.”
The win lifted Barcelona to the highest of La Liga, one level away from Actual Madrid, forward of an important Champions League conflict with Olympiakos on Tuesday and the season’s first Clasico subsequent weekend.
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