Ronald Araujo, great match and a warm ovation on his return to Montjuïc

FC Barcelona crushed Real Betis in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey (5-1), a match where Ronald Araujo returned to the starting lineup in Montjuïc for the first time since April 29, 2024. The '4' had also been in the XI against Barbastro, while against Real Madrid, he played 62 minutes after the injury of Iñigo Martínez. On a day when his continuity at Barça was secured, the defender delivered a solid performance against the 'verdiblanco' team.

Ronald received the first big ovation of the night when presenting the trophy of the Supercopa de España won on Sunday. Afterwards, he had a first half with few scares, except for a missed one-on-one against Vitor Roque. In the second half, already with qualification to the quarter-finals secured, the 'charrúa' was substituted in the 64th minute for Eric García, once again applauded by the entire blaugrana crowd.

In total, the captain completed 56 and 61 passes (91%), 9 of them in the final third. In defensive duties, he won 4 of 6 individual duels, losing only one ball and committing one foul. Additionally, he completed a clearance, without suffering any dribbles on a day when Betis attacked very little against Barça's suffocating pressure in the opponent's half.

Flick has no doubts: Araujo stays to fight for the starting position

In the post-match press conference, Hansi Flick praised Araujo again, taking for granted his continuity and prominence in the second half of the season with Barça. "He has a contract, he is a player in the squad and of course he will continue. I have never had any doubts about that. I am very happy that he can help us", the Barça coach began saying about the captain.

In that sense, he valued being able to recover him at this point in the season, although he avoided 'getting wet' about his long-term plans. "I don’t know what the future holds. Today he had a great match. I value his work and what he transmits to the team very much. He is a special player", Flick pointed out. The coach gave the Uruguayan international a rest thinking about the match on Saturday against Getafe. The '4' has a bad memory of his last visit to the Coliseo Alfonso Pérez, as he was sent off at the end for protesting a non-called handball penalty.