Napoli endured a painful 3-1 loss to Villarreal in the Champions League, letting an early advantage slip away. Amir Rrahmani scored first, but a costly back-pass from Matteo Politano swung the match in the hosts’ favor.
The Partenopei were aiming to carry momentum from their 3-0 Serie A triumph over Frosinone, yet defensive errors and wasted chances proved costly. Santiago Mourino fired Villarreal ahead with a brilliant long-range effort, and Tani Oluwaseyi wrapped up the win late on.
Napoli team updates and Champions League strain
Napoli came into the game seeking to bounce back from a 1-0 home loss to Arsenal in their opening Champions League match. Scott McTominay made his first start in five weeks after heart surgery to fix a mild benign arrhythmia.
Giovane was added to Napoli’s UEFA squad and promptly given a spot in the starting XI. Still, the Italian club was missing Frank Anguissa, Mathias Olivera, Antonio Vergara, Alisson Santos, Costantino Favasuli, and Alessandro Buongiorno.
Villarreal also required a reaction in Europe after a 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund. The Spanish team, sitting 11th in LaLiga before kick-off, were without the injured Nicolas Pepe and ex-Inter midfielder Tajon Buchanan.
Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi was slated to start but pulled out of the squad after it came to light that his home had been hit by an armed robbery late the night before, with his family there.
Amir Rrahmani puts Napoli in front
Napoli started energetically, with Renato Veiga stretching to block Giovane’s pass from finding Rasmus Hojlund. The visitors quickly broke through from a set-piece move involving Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour.
De Bruyne took a short corner before Gilmour sent the ball to the far post. Rrahmani climbed to meet it, and though his header was brilliantly tipped onto the underside of the crossbar, the Napoli defender reacted fast to convert the rebound.
Villarreal pushed back with growing intensity. Georges Mikautadze seemed set to equalize from just inside the box, but Benoit Badiashile made a vital deflection. Pape Gueye then went close from the following corner, sending his shot just wide.
Napoli almost doubled their lead when Hojlund met a cross from Politano with a header that struck the goal frame. That miss turned out to be especially costly as Villarreal hit back almost right away.
Matteo Politano’s mistake triggers Villarreal fightback
Moments after Hojlund hit the woodwork, Politano played a terrible back-pass that Mikautadze cut out. The Villarreal attacker drew goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic off his line before finishing from a very tight angle into the empty net.
The equalizer changed the game, and Villarreal soon completed their comeback. Santiago Mourino unleashed a stunning long-range strike that flew past Milinkovic-Savic’s fingertips to put the hosts 2-1 up.
Napoli kept threatening before half-time, with McTominay heading a free chance off target. Both Mikautadze and Politano were also involved in dangerous counter-attacks as the match stayed open.
After the break, Luiz Junior rushed off his line to stop Gilmour’s through ball from reaching Hojlund. Badiashile also made a key interception to deny Napoli a close-range chance, helping Villarreal hold their lead.
Napoli falters as Tani Oluwaseyi seals the win
Napoli struggled to penetrate Villarreal’s defense in the second half and couldn’t make the most of a brief period when the hosts were down to nine men under the new delayed-substitution rules.
Hojlund had chances to alter the result but failed to convert. After Luiz Junior spilled a free-kick, the striker volleyed the rebound onto his own face. He later dribbled past three defenders but took the ball into too narrow an angle to finish effectively.
De Bruyne tried to create another opening with a cross towards the far post, which skimmed both Lorenzo Lucca’s head and Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s studs. Napoli couldn’t turn the delivery into a goal, and Villarreal eventually landed the decisive blow.
Nathan Saliba found Ayoze Perez with a pass, and though Perez’s heavy first touch was unintentional, it left the ball perfectly placed for Tani Oluwaseyi. The forward swept home with little pressure to complete Villarreal’s 3-1 victory and hand Napoli another Champions League setback.
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By Anna Italia
