Barcelona captain opens up on the prospect of facing Mbappe and Dembele

After securing a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals by defeating Napoli in the previous round, Barcelona learned their opponent earlier today.

As fate would have it, PSG and Barcelona have been drawn to play each other in the final eight of the Champions League.

The two sides have locked horns a number of times over the years, and although PSG got the better of Barça the last time, the odds are expected to be much more even on this occasion.

Indeed, owing to Barcelona’s newfound quality in the defensive department, the Catalan giants stand a fair shot of qualifying for the semi-finals.

And one of the most important players for Barcelona would be central defender Ronald Araujo, whose duel with Kylian Mbappe will be sure to invite a lot of attention.

Araujo reflects on the tie

Now, speaking to TV3 (h/t Mundo Deportivo) Araujo has given his two cents on the upcoming match-up.

Giving Mbappe his roses and particularly highlighting his strengths in 1v1 scenarios, Araujo remarked:

“He is a great rival, a great player. For me, today, he is the most destabilizing one-on-one and a very important player for them.”

Araujo has generally been relied upon centrally but has also chipped in with some big displays at right-back, most notably against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr.

Araujo thus claimed he has yet to find out where Xavi plans to field him. Additionally, the Uruguayan talked about former teammate Ousmane Dembele’s elite dribbling skills.

“I still don’t know what position I’m going to play in, but we know the quality of the player he is.

“They even have Ousmane, who we had here, who is also very good one-on-one, and we will try to counteract that virtue of theirs and also with our football,” he exclaimed.

Barcelona and PSG will lock horns in April, with the first leg set to be played at Parc des Princes and the second leg at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.