Rayo wants to make Los Cármenes its turning point. The numbers do not draw the best of scenarios for some redheads, who are already used to growing up when things look worse. Iraola’s team reached this break occupying thirteenth place, with 32 points, six above relegation. Some figures that are not worrying in themselves, but because of their context. The Vallecanos they have not yet won in the League this 2022, in which they have only taken two points —thanks to their draws against Betis and Sevilla— and they have chained six defeats in what has been their worst streak of the course.
Rayo’s last victory dates from December 18, 2021 (2-0 against Alavés), although you would have to go back even further – more than half a year – to find their only away win of the season. The red-haired ones prevailed (1-2) in San Mamés on September 21 and, since then, they have hung the sanbenito of the worst visitor of First, after having added only five points far from Vallecas. Hence, the Granada match takes on greater relevance. It is his first final of the ten that remain to reach permanence and Iraola will have to face it with a significant loss, that of captain Óscar Trejo, due to suspension.
Nevertheless, the locker room is clear: yes, you can. He clings to the fact that the team does not play badly and maintains those signs of identity that made him the revelation of the first round. Once the problem has been detected, mainly the lack of a goal, it seems that the solution is closer. This is how the players feel and experience it. “We have the illusion and desire to change this situation. When you are in a bad dynamic, victory is everything, it modifies both the mood and the way you face the next matches. We must be focused and try to make as few mistakes as possible. The goal is everyone’s business, this block has it, it is going to get it and the results will comeOscar Valentin said.
For Catena this break has been positive. “It has been good for us to take games off our legs and our heads. There is a desire for the duel in Granada to arrive and to compete again to reverse a situation that we do not like. We continue to do the same things as in the first lap, what happens is that they are not giving us the same performance. It’s a matter of being more successful in both areas, in attack and defense, at specific times. We trust in what we are doing and that is the basis for moving this forward“, argued the central.
The recipe to get out of the pothole has work as its main ingredient, always seasoned by desire and commitment. Iraola and hers, her boys follow her to the letter. “We are screwed because the results are not coming and we have our minds set on turning this around as soon as possible. We are lacking the effectiveness in front of the goal that we did have at the beginning of the campaign. It will be a matter of time to recover it. It will come and everything will be easier. We are putting a lot of emphasis on the completions to gain confidence. With work and union we will get it forward. We will try to reach the end as calm as possible“, declared the top scorer of the Strip, with five goals.