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Ronald Araujo explains the cause behind Vinicius’s clash in the heated Clasico.
After a contentious El Clasico on Wednesday night, Ronald Araujo urged Vinicius Junior to “focus on playing.”
On Wednesday night at Camp Nou, there were 29 fouls committed and 11 yellow cards given out overall. Araujo and Vinicius were at the centre of the tense situation.
Vinicius scored the first goal in a crushing 4-0 victory in the Copa del Rey semifinal, putting his team on top in this Clasico.
Speaking after the game to Teledeporte, Barça defender Araujo was keen to call out Vinicius for his behaviour on Wednesday, stating: “I got a little hot because I was talking to people all the time. He’s a great player, but he has to concentrate on playing. If he dedicates himself only to that, he will be better.
“I always try to respect everyone, he’s a great player, I’ve always said it, but today I got a little hot because he didn’t stop talking to people, looking at everyone.
“We are sad. We wanted to go for one more title, but in the second half we went down a lot after the 0-2 loss. The first [half] was remarkable, but they scored against [the run of play]. It’s time to get up and go for the league, which is the most important.”
The win for Real Madrid saw them overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach the Copa del Rey final, where they face off against Osasuna. It was also a win which put an end to Barça’s El Clasico win streak which stood at three heading into Wednesday evening.
Before the unrest on Wednesday night, Vinicius and Araujo had had several fights in El Clasico over the previous few years.
Before a minute-long sequence of loose grappling and friendly chats involving players from both teams began, Araujo was spotted shoving Vinicius.