Vallecas pitch passes the test after 35-day lay-off | OneFootball

Vallecas hosted football again on Saturday, the surface passing its test after 35 days without a LaLiga game because of the pitch.

As reported by as.com, some areas, especially by the dugouts, still looked tired, but the grass was notably better than for Mallorca and Osasuna.

Iñigo sounded the alarm after facing Mallorca, calling the surface unfit for the top flight. Royalverd responded with a conservative intervention, replacing sod in the boxes and along a flank.

Two reasons were cited then, the San Silvestre and continual changes of measurements between the Conference and LaLiga. The remedy did not work and the pitch deteriorated against Osasuna, drawing fierce criticism from Chavarría and Álvaro.

The decision was then taken to re-lay the surface entirely, removing the old turf and importing new grass, a project put at about 300,000 euros. Work finished on Thursday 5, under 48 hours before Rayo-Oviedo, and the squad could not train there.

Via AFE, the players flagged poor conditions at the stadium and the Ciudad Deportiva. Four hours before Oviedo, the match was postponed because LaLiga feared injuries, and heavy rain then stopped the new turf rooting or draining.

Efforts were redoubled to keep the Atlético derby in Vallecas, but LaLiga moved it to Butarque despite improvements. Time and sun have since helped, lines were painted on Tuesday and sessions on Wednesday and Friday ran normally. In the build-up Iñigo said it was fit, which the match confirmed.

Source: as.com