‘It’s a pity‘ — Inigo Perez rues Joan Garcia’s impact after Barcelona beat Rayo Vallecano | OneFootball

Inigo Perez is widely regarded as one of the best young managers going around in La Liga and it is obvious why. What he has done with this Rayo Vallecano time with the resources at his disposal is nothing short of admirable.

Perez had plenty to say after Rayo Vallecano’s narrow defeat at FC Barcelona, and some of his most striking words were reserved for Joan Garcia. The Rayo coach made it clear that the Barca goalkeeper was one of the main reasons his side left Camp Nou empty-handed.

As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Perez felt Rayo deserved more from the match, especially after the break. He said:

“I think a draw would have been fair. In the second half we deserved a goal, but it is true that these teams, if you score against them, can react. Even so, we could have drawn this match.”

The clearest Joan Garcia quote came when Perez said:

“It is a pity that Joan Garcia signed for Barcelona.”

It was an almost ironic line, but also a huge compliment to the Barca goalkeeper after a match-winning display. Opposing coaches do not speak like that unless a goalkeeper has genuinely changed the game, and Joan clearly did that against Rayo.

It is the second time in the same season that Joan Garcia has done the unthinkable against Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona would have lost both games, had it not been for a superhuman display from their Catalan goalkeeper.

It’s games like these that win you the championship, and should Barcelona go on to do that, they’ll look back fondly at all the games Joan Garcia helped them to achieve that dream and these Rayo games will be at the top of the list.