Iñigo Pérez Prioritizes La Liga Survival Over Conference League Progress, Even if it Means AEK Elimination

Just days before their crucial Conference League quarter-final second leg against AEK in Athens, Rayo Vallecano suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Mallorca in La Liga.

Head coach Iñigo Pérez, speaking at the post-match press conference, expressed his disappointment with his team's poor performance. When asked whether he prioritized La Liga survival or European success, his answer was unequivocal: he'd rather be eliminated by AEK.

"When you lose 3-0, there's a lot to analyze, but it's painful. We need to separate the win against AEK from today's defeat. I don't think it's fair to attribute it to fatigue. They played better than us, they were flawless, and we didn't score. We had chances, but we didn't control the game."

"If we use playing every three days as an excuse and then get carried away when we win, we're fooling ourselves. I don't like to use the Conference League for or against us. If we weren't capable, we would have refused to play on Thursday. Since I don't think it works that way, we need to isolate ourselves in the league. We can't be mediocre and make excuses," he added.

Regarding his team's league position, Iñigo stated, "The pressure shouldn't be excessive, because that's our essence. We were born to survive in the top flight."

"If you guarantee me (addressing the journalist) that by losing Thursday's tie (meaning being eliminated), we will stay up, I'll sign it right now. I prefer to stay up and celebrate that fact; that's our core objective," was his response to the dilemma between La Liga and the Conference League.