What could Xavi have done differently to save Barcelona after Ronald Araujo’s red card?

Everything was going Barcelona’s way, just as it had in the first leg.

PSG came out attacking, but the Blaugrana were patient and organized, allowing nothing through. And with each passing minute, as Parisian frustrations grew, Barcelona came closer to the opening goal.

Again, it was Raphinha to get on the score sheet off of a darting run down the right flank by Lamine Yamal.

At 4-2 on aggregate, the Blaugrana were in the driving seat.

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This was not your typical Barcelona performance either. Conceding most of the possession to their opponents from the beginning. Instead, looking to play on the counter. And the thing is, it seemed to be working.

But a Champions League match always hangs by a thread. A comeback is never too far away. This time it was PSG making the remontada against Barcelona, and not the other way around.

Except this time, Barcelona really did defeat themselves.

A moment of madness by Ronald Araujo? What do you do in that situation? Let the attacker run by?

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In hindsight, of course. Even if he scores the goal.

But even after the jaw dropping moment, PSG were still just given a free kick, which they missed, and Barcelona had a two-goal lead.

Nerve racking for sure, but surely there was a way to manage the game to save the victory.

The first big decision with fifteen minutes left in the half, was who to pull off in order to put in a center back to replace Araujo.

It’s hard to argue with Xavi’s decision to put in Iñigo Martínez. And I think a lot of us saw from a mile away that Lamine Yamal was going to be the sacrifice. But the obvious choice isn’t always the right choice.

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The brave decision might have been to pull Robert Lewandowski, who went on to do close to nothing the rest of the way on either side of the ball.

But honestly, I don’t blame Xavi for this first move.

The most important objective was to get to halftime.

Unfortunately, the Blaugrana weren’t able to emerge unscathed. It was none other than Ousmane Dembele, who had been enduring jeers with every touch of the ball, who finally broke the dam for PSG.

As an aside, what does all that booing accomplish? Dembele in particular, who once again was the best player on the field for Paris, certainly used that as fuel. The Frenchman seemed more than happy to embrace the role of villain that the Barca fans, and the media, casted him in. In the end, he was involved in the first three PSG goals, and had the last laugh as he was substituted in the dying moments of the game.

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Going back in time for a minute, did Xavi even get the starting lineup right?

If there was one thing that made me nervous, and truthfully I was quite positive and optimistic before the game began, it was the vulnerability of Joao Cancelo on the left side.

At halftime, with Barcelona still holding on to a one-goal lead, surely tactical and structural changes were needed.

And this is where I think Xavi deserves some criticism. The manager did nothing. Just sent the team back out as they were.

This was the time to pull Cancelo. In truth, he lost sight of Dembele on the first goal, and more mistakes were to come his way in the second half at the hands of the former Barcelona lightening rod.

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I’ll be the Monday morning quarterback, because why not. Barca fans are all suffering now, and will be trying to make sense of what happened.

At halftime, you tell your team to play. You can’t just sit back.

But you also have to have the right players on the field to contend with the fact that you’re playing down a man.

I would have loved to see Hector Fort come on. That man may be young but he has shown he can lock down the corners defensively.

And then, I’m sorry to hurt the feelings of a superstar, but you have to pull Lewandowski in favor of a player like Ferran Torres who has the ability to score, as well as the ability to get around the field and cover space on the other side of the ball.

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In the end, maybe these ideas don’t work.

But as a manager, it’s a bad look in this situation when you do nothing at halftime, when you have a chance to level set, and your team looks like sitting ducks, until all is finally lost.

Barcelona looked like they had no ideas to start the half. They looked scared and frozen.

The best thing that Xavi did after Araujo’s ejection was getting himself thrown out as well. Yelling and kicking things, as it turns out, is a great way to wake up your team, and get them out of their heads so they can play again.

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But it was too little too late.

The Champions League strikes again. Another day to live in Barcelona infamy.

And it’s really too bad. Because Xavi deserves so much credit for getting the team this far.

Once again, I thought he outcoached Luis Enrique to start the game. The team looked confident, organized, and full of life from the get-go.

Araujo had a consequential moment he would love to get back.

But the game wasn’t over then and there. The defender, who’s the heart and soul of this team, can not take all the blame, even if he should, and certainly will, take responsibility for his mistake.

Luck was not on Barcelona’s side.

And this young team, with a young manager, wasn’t up to the task of thinking through, or suffering through, their way across the finish line.

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This one hurts.

And yet, I have a feeling Joan Laporta will go up to Xavi, and beg the manager to stay another year.

This whole season has been full of challenges. Xavi was dealt a tough hand.

There likely won’t be better alternatives on the market with true Champions League pedigrees.

Xavi got Barcelona over the hump. Into the quarterfinals, and so close to the semis, and beyond.

That was a magical little run.

This is the stage where Barcelona belongs.

And you can bet they’ll be back next season, determined to make it even further.