Rayo Vallecano’s coach spoke about Romanian international Andrei Rațiu (26 years old) after the defeat suffered against Barcelona, 0-1, in the Spanish league.
Inigo Perez, Rayo Vallecano’s coach, praised Rațiu for the way the Romanian right-back „annihilated” Raphinha, one of the most in-form players at the moment.
The coach said about Rațiu that he is having a very good season, both offensively and defensively, and that it was a test for him to have Brazilian Raphinha as his opponent, a test he passed.
"Andrei is having a very good season, both offensively and defensively, and in this match, he had to face the player who challenges you the most, Raphinha. For him, the test was to see if he could handle him. He started a bit timid, like the whole team.
But as time passed, Andrei and the team grew, played well, and showed their potential," stated Inigo Perez, Rayo Vallecano's coach, according to the Spanish press.
Andrei Rațiu played 23 matches (1927 minutes) in all competitions this season at Rayo Vallecano, during which he scored once and provided two assists.