Barcelona’s disappointing loss in the Champions League quarter-finals has stirred up a lot of social media negativity. Their fan base had experienced an heartbreaking moment that night.
The first leg sparked a lot of hope after they won 3-2 at Parc des Princes. It almost seemed like a pushover for the 2nd Leg in Spain. The morale of the Spanish side was very high, and already they had the intention of pulling PSG apart. But they experienced a harsh defeat at home.
They initially started the game well, but a series of costly mistakes self-destructed them. This triggered their fans terribly after the game, causing a lot of abuse and toxicity.
So far a lot of players have been the scapegoat for abuse. But Joao Cancelo has been receiving the most toxic abuseof them all.
A Recap of Barcelona’s Defeat at Home
Barcelona lost 4-1 at home to PSG. They opened the scoring with Raphina. It seemed to pile more pressure on PSG. But it soon became reversed, with more pressure on the Catalans
Ronald Araujo made a costly foul on Bradley Barcola. Being the last man at that point he got red carded.
Barcelona tried to hold their own, but more mistakes proceeded. Barca’s coach Xavi Hernandez got red-carded for misconduct.
It got worse after a bad foul from Cancelo in the Box. This led to a penalty. Kylian Mbappe converted it to give PSG their 3rd.
The Catalans lost hold of the game, and a quick counter in the late minutes gave PSG their fourth.
A lot of complaints were made after the game. Xavi Hernandez, alongside the fans all spoke about how unfavorable the officiating was.
A lot of Criticism fell on Barcelona’s players. Araujo was scapegoated for his silly foul on Barcola. Ilkay Gundogan expressed his disappointment over the mistake. In return, Araujo apologized and admitted the mistake.
Joao Cancelo also had his share of criticism, but it seemed to hurt more.
Joao Cancelo Receives Toxicity on Social Media
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Cancelo’s foul on Ousmane Dembele caused the penalty that gave PSG an aggregate lead. After the 3-1 lead, the aggregate became 5-4 in favor of PSG. This mounted a strong pressure on the Catalans causing a counter that led to the fourth.
An ample of fans believed the chain of events that led to the loss was from Cancelo’s foul.
Cancelo claimed he has been receiving a lot of abuse on Instagram. To worsen it, he claimed some were death wishes sent at his unborn daughter. In addition, He pointed out they also fired harsh words at his partner. The Portuguese star expressed his sadness over this.
Aside from the fan’s criticism, Joao Cancelo also experienced criticism from an Ex-Manchester United defender.
Rio Ferdinand called out his mistake as Childish. Cancelo at first acknowledged Ferdinand as a great defender. Afterwards, he pointed out that all defenders including Ferdinand had made one or two mistakes before in their career.
In the end, the Portuguese accepted the criticism and admitted he’d do his best to improve.
More hurdles ahead
After Barcelona’s loss at home to PSG, they also got shocked late at the Bernabeu on the weekend. They lost 3-2, thanks to a late goal from Bellingham. Barcelona’s disappointments this season looked like a never-ending loop.
As it stands, the La Liga trophy looks out of their reach.
Nonetheless, Xavi’s team will look to rejuvenate the team’s confidence. He’ll make sure his side finishes the season strong by winning all their remaining games.
Their next game will be at home against Valencia on the 29th of April.
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