Ronald Araujo explains why he caught ball mid-game in Barcelona vs Getafe | OneFootball

Barcelona opened their La Liga title defence with a 0-0 draw away against Getafe, with one of the bigger talking points from the game surrounding a bizarre action from Ronald Araujo.

The visitors were put on the back foot towards the end of the first half when Raphinha was shown a red card for a moment of madness that saw the Brazilian throw an elbow into the face of an opponent.

With the ball in the middle of the pitch, and nowhere near the incident in question, it was difficult to understand the reason behind his lashing out.

The odds were evened in the second half with Jaime Mata also being sent off for two bookable offences, but that was not enough to help Barca find a winner in the game meaning they had to settle for a point in their season opener.

Only moments after the Raphinha red card, there was another unusual occurrence in the match, as Araujo seemed to forget what sport he was playing.

Ronald Araujo catches the ball mid-match

During first-half stoppage time, a rather standard long ball was played out towards the Uruguayan defender - who was playing right-back - and the defender did something unexpected.

While the ball was slightly over-hit, it was still within reach for him to control with his head or chest, but instead, Araujo decided to leap up and claim the ball like a top class goalkeeper.

He instantly realised the mistake made and ran back towards his defensive half while apologising to his teammates for the error in judgement.

Surprisingly, the referee appeared to show some sympathy towards Araujo as he was not even shown a yellow card for the offence.

It was hard to see the thought proccess within the 24-year-old's mind, but he has given an insight during his post-match interview.

Araujo gives his reaction to catching the ball

In the aftermath of the game, the defender gave his reason for catching the ball, and it is actually quite a simple mistake to make as he simply appeared to have lost his bearings.

Araujo said, per Barca Universal: "I caught the ball with my hands because I thought I was outside the pitch, but it's nothing."

So he was simply trying to prevent the ball going to far, in order to get the game going again quickly as he thought it would be a throw-in to Getafe.

Fans will find it a lot easier to forgive the mistake in comparison to Raphinha's moment of madness. Araujo continues to be a very talented player with big things expected of his 2023/24 season.

The first home game of the season for the Spanish champions comes against Cadiz on Sunday as the Nou Camp get a first glimpse of their side for the new campaign.

A trip to Villarreal the following week, and Osasuna the weekend after, will round off the first month of the season before an international break occurs.

As is normally the case in Spain, it is expected to be a two-horse title race between the Catalan club and Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid are always lurking in the background, but they are far from favourites to win the league.