Xavi Hernandez slams decision to send off Ronald Araujo in Paris Saint-Germain defeat as 'unnecessary'

Barcelona boss Xavi questioned the decision to send defender Ronald Araujo off as his side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.

Leading 3-2 after the first leg in France, the hosts looked set to ease into the last-four when Raphinha put them 1-0 up on the night.

However, there was drama aplenty to come, as the visitors, inspired by Kylian Mbappe, secured a 4-1 win to progress 6-4 on aggregate.

In a decision TNT Sports expert Rio Ferdinand thought was a game-changer, Araujo was shown a straight red card for a foul on Bradley Barcola after 29 minutes, while a rash challenge by Joao Cancelo on Ousmane Dembele gifted PSG a second-half penalty.

It was the sending off that particularly irked Xavi, though, as he said: "We are leaving upset, furious, because I think that play defines the tie.

"When we played 11 against 11, I believe we were well positioned defensively. There's another tie from that play onwards.

"It was too much to show a red card in that play. It's not good for football to be left with 10 players, and there's another game there.

"I like to play 11 against 11 all the minutes. We know there are expulsions in football, but this one is unnecessary."

To make matters worse, Xavi was also sent off in the second half after angrily kicking a foam cushion near his technical area.

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