Villarreal come from behind to beat Napoli 3-1 in the Champions League

Amir Rrahmani gave the visitors an early lead, but Georges Mikautadze, Santiago Mouriño and Tani Oluwaseyi scored to give Villarreal a 3-1 Champions League win over Napoli and their first league-phase victory. Amir Rrahmani put the visitors ahead in the eighth minute, but Villarreal responded and eventually turned the match around. Georges Mikautadze, Santiago Mouriño and Tani Oluwaseyi scored the goals, with Oluwaseyi sealing the win late on.

The comeback also boosted Villarreal’s confidence in their approach. Coach Iñigo Pérez was pleased that his side stuck to its plan after conceding. “We have to make sure that conceding a goal is not treated like a pit, but accepted as something that can happen. The key was not to abandon our strategy or tactical instructions,” he said.

For Napoli, the defeat exposed the difficulty of staying in control after taking the lead. Massimiliano Allegri rued the missed chances that could have made it 2-0, including opportunities for Scott McTominay and Rasmus Højlund. He also noted that Napoli had been giving opponents too many chances in recent matches, raising concerns about the team’s defensive organisation.

“We need to find a balance: we create a lot going forward, but we also concede a lot when defending,” Allegri said. He added that technical errors were part of football, but that the response to them mattered. Napoli’s challenge is to pair its attacking quality with greater collective discipline.

Pérez said a result of this kind strengthens confidence in the work the team has been developing, even though the players had continued pursuing the same objectives when results were less favourable. He was nevertheless quick to turn his attention to Villarreal’s next fixture, against Elche. “We will have a short time to enjoy this, and from tomorrow we will think about Elche. That is the priority. Then the Champions League will come again.”