Barcelona defensive ace shows growing adaptation to Flick’s demands in Benfica win | OneFootball

Ronald Araujo began the current season on the sidelines and spent close to six months working separately recuperating from his hamstring injury that required surgery.

He eventually found his way back to the squad and faced strong resistance to restore himself as a regular starter given the partnership Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi struck up, especially in terms of managing the high defensive line.

Hansi Flick gave the Uruguayan minutes to prove his worth in January but he struggled to keep up with the offside trap and came across as a loose piece in the puzzle.

Redemption at last

While Flick did opt to utilise the services of Eric Garcia briefly after Araujo’s struggles in defence, the Uruguayan star has always been ahead of the Spaniard on the manager’s pecking order.

Flick took the chance to give Araujo time to adapt and recent games are proof that he has what it takes to adapt to the new system, as relayed by SPORT.

Growing into the new style. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Araujo started Barcelona’s recent game against Real Sociedad and completed the game holding off well in central defence.

Last night, he faced his biggest challenge yet replacing Pau Cubarsi against Benfica, for the Portuguese giants have shown time and time again to have what it takes to beat Barcelona’s high defensive line.

Taking to the field in the decisive second leg last night, Araujo maintained Barcelons’s offside trap to precision and did his best to stay on the same line as Inigo Martinez on the opposition counterattacks.

Beyond that, the 25-year-old also looked comfortable with the ball at his feet and completed the game with a passing accuracy of 93%, four clearances and five tackles.

Needless to say, it comes as massive progress for the club captain who faced the wrath of the media not too long ago for not being able to adapt to Hansi Flick’s requirements.