Ronald Araújo impressed against Real Madrid in Riyadh on Sunday as Barcelona became Spanish Super Cup champions.
Xavi played Araújo at right-back in last season’s Clásico at the Bernabéu with the mission of stopping Vinícius, and Barça have always beaten Madrid when the Uruguayan defender has played there: 4-0 at the Bernabéu, 1-0 in Las Vegas and 3-1 in Riyadh for a record of 8-1 in recent Clásicos, as reported by Diario AS.
On Sunday against Madrid, Araújo made four recoveries and won the two duels he was involved in. He also had a pass completion rate of 87.5%.
Araújo conceded very little to fellow South American Vinícius and showed he was 100 per cent fit and fully recovered from the thigh injury that had kept him out for over a hundred days.
Although he is a centre-back, Xavi has found himself a perfect man-marker for tricky left wingers going forward.
Kieran Quaile | GSFN
