Iñigo Pérez heads to the Bernabéu with Villarreal after two losses

Iñigo Pérez’s Villarreal arrives at the next LaLiga round chasing its first points at the Santiago Bernabéu, following two defeats on the road with Rayo Vallecano against Real Madrid.

Struggles away from home

The Navarrese coach, who debuted in LaLiga with Rayo in February 2024, has faced Madrid five times. He lost both away matches, even though he picked up results at home. The first meeting ended 2-1: Mbappé and Vinícius put Madrid ahead before the 35th minute, and Pedro Díaz pulled one back in the 45th, but the comeback never came.

A familiar 2-1

Earlier this year, the 2-1 script repeated: Vinícius opened the scoring, De Frutos equalised, and Mbappé sealed it from the penalty spot in the 90th minute. At home, however, Pérez has drawn three times in his meetings with Real Madrid, and that’s the clue he’ll try to replicate at the Bernabéu.