People here keep saying, oh, but we would make the final if Araujo didn't get the red.
Really? We just watched an arguably EL level side concede 0 goals over two ties to PSG and beat them 3-0 on aggregate whilst we were on ropes for most of the two ties.
Even if we assume we beat PSG without the red, which is not that clear, who says that we beat Dortmund? We weren't good enough at all even for the weak side of the bracket.
Fact the management and club is excusing this is remarkable. We didn't get unlucky as the main reason, as clearly shown, we just weren't good enough to deserve the final over Dortmund.
People act like it is meaningless, but this kind of mentality comes from the top down, you have even seen the players start to repeat the nonsense about how they always get unlucky every game and have been so unlucky not to do better this season. There is some pervasive culture of thinking, in spite of results, we are 'superior' to other teams, and that when we lose, there is never anything we could have done, we are always just unlucky and we always deserve it more.
Is it a surprise why Xavi's knockout record is so poor? He psyches himself out and the players before the matches even start.
