The match against Chelsea wasn’t a knockout blow to our Champions League hopes; it wasn’t the moment that defines our year. Yes, we wanted to send a message, but football doesn’t always follow the script.
What we cannot do is crush our own players in the process. Araujo hasn’t trained for two days because of how heavily this has affected him mentally. That alone should make us pause.
Maybe his red card will slow down our road to qualifying for the next round of the Champions League, but maybe his last-minute goal against Girona weeks ago will be the one that wins us La Liga. Football gives and takes in ways we cannot predict.
This is the moment where a club chooses who it wants to be. Do we tear down the ones who slip, or do we take their hand and help them rise again? Negativity now only weakens us. We should be turning setbacks into fuel, not wounds.
This is not okay. Let’s reset, support each other, recover, and fight again together.
