Ronald Araujo sends a message to Flick: goal and assist to return to the starting eleven

Ronald Araujo was one of the standout players in the victory of FC Barcelona against Real Sociedad (4-0). The Uruguayan center-back returned to the starting eleven after three consecutive games on the bench while recovering from the injury suffered against Sevilla three weeks ago, and he did it in style, scoring a goal and providing an assist to claim his spot in the starting eleven of Hansi Flick.

The charrúa, in addition to being very solid in defense, managed to register his name in the statistics by celebrating the goal that sealed the victory for the Catalans in Montjuïc. In the 56th minute, Raphinha took a corner for Robert Lewandowski to shoot initially, but his shot was saved by Álex Remiro. However, the '4' culé was alert to catch the rebound and score the third goal of the night with a header.

To top it off, just four minutes later, the South American picked up the ball 30 meters from the Donostiarra goal and sent a powerful right-footed shot that was redirected on the way by the Polish scorer and found its way into the 'txuri-urdin' net, earning him a 'spontaneous' assist to round off his outstanding performance.

In this way, the 25-year-old defender steps up and confirms that he is more than ready to return to being one of the 'indispensables' for Hansi Flick, who in recent weeks had opted for Iñigo Martínez and left him on the bench.

Ronald Araujo's words

At the end of the match, Araujo spoke to the media and, in addition to valuing Barça's victory, commented on his situation in the first team. "Very happy, very happy with the match we played. The truth is that it was important to win today to put us at the top. Happy because the team has been doing a great job and we are first in LaLiga," Ronald began to say.

"Happy for the goal, for helping the team. I come from a long injury. I am quite calm, we have to take it step by step. I trust a lot in myself, in my characteristics and in what I can bring to the team when I feel good. Happy to add minutes, to help," added the center-back.

Regarding Flick's rotation plan, the Uruguayan stated that "it was important to have a team this competitive" to be favorites for the LaLiga title, concluding his appearance by commenting that to win the championship, "we need to have plenty of players, not just eleven or twelve, but a good bench. The coach manages that very well too. Everyone who comes in with confidence, comes in happy and knows they can contribute to the team".