Arsenal legend and former Barcelona striker Thierry Henry criticized Ronald Araujo and Joao Cancelo for their terrible actions on Tuesday night, leading to the team's Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
Ronald Araujo's red card in the first half altered Barça's control of the game after the Blaugranes scored first to put themselves 4-2 on aggregate, and Henry was not happy with the defender's attempt, which led to his dismissal and ultimately helped PSG turn-the-tie to 4-6 aggregate away win.
“Do not dive in like that and make the decision for the referee,” he said on CBS Sports.
“You know if you’re going to make it or if you’re not going to make it. So let him go and hope that your goalkeeper’s going to save it. Don’t let the referee have the power to make what Xavi calls a mistake.”
Henry also blasted the team's left-back, Joao Cancelo, after the on-loan Manchester City man conceded a penalty for a harsh challenge on Ousmane Dembele.
“If he [Cancelo] looks at this tonight, he will go, ‘why did I tackle?” he added.
“I can understand if Dembele was right in front of the goal and you think he is going to shoot—you dive in. He is in the corner of the box!
“Even if he wasn’t caught and it went to VAR, VAR would have seen leg before ball, so you don’t even have to tackle that one; just stand your ground. Go with him. Stand your ground.”
Overall, Thierry Henry felt that Barcelona, despite the forces against them that night, could've ended the match with a positive result if they had held their composure, drawing strength from the club's overwhelming history.
No comments:
Post a Comment