Iñigo Pérez faces Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu with a clear goal: to earn his first points at the Madrid fortress as Rayo Vallecano manager. The Navarrese coach has lost on both of his previous visits to the stadium with the Vallecas side.
Pérez made his La Liga debut in February 2024 in charge of Rayo. Since then, he has faced Real Madrid on five occasions. "The Navarrese coach, who made his Primera División debut in February 2024 in charge of the Vallecas team, has faced Madrid on five occasions and, although he lost both away games, he was able to pick up points at home," the EFE agency explained.
On the first visit last season, Rayo fell 2-1 with goals from Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior before the 35th minute. Pedro Díaz pulled one back just before half-time. The second defeat came last January 31st, also 2-1. Vinícius opened the scoring, Randy Nteka equalised, and Mbappé sealed the win from the penalty spot in the 90th minute. At Vallecas, however, Pérez has managed three draws.
The team arrives at this fixture after drawing 1-1 with Osasuna on September 19th, a result that leaves them 12th in La Liga with 8 points. The squad, with Sergio Camello as top scorer with seven goals, will look to break their poor away run against the league leaders.
The match takes place on the next La Liga matchday, with Rayo in need of points to stabilise their mid-table position. The team's last victory was a 2-1 win over Espanyol on September 15th.
This story first appeared at Mundo Deportivo
