(PRIMASPORT) CERAMICS STADIUM Napoli, led by Massimiliano Allegri, suffered their second consecutive defeat in the Champions League League Phase, losing 3-1 to Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Despite an early lead from Rrahmani, the Partenopei were pegged back by goals from Mikautadze, Mouriño, and Oluwaseyi, with a three-minute powerlessness in the first half that changed the game's momentum.
The defeat leaves Napoli without a point in the group, extending their drought of away wins in Europe to three years. McTominay returned to the starting lineup, but it was the Gilmour-Rrahmani duo that gave the Azzurri hope: in the 8th minute, Rrahmani headed against the crossbar from Gilmour's pass, then scored with a right-footed turn from the Scotsman's pass, giving Napoli the lead.
Villarreal, however, reacted quickly: in the 22nd minute, Mikautadze equalized after taking advantage of a misplaced back pass from Politano, then in the 26th minute, Mouriño unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from distance to give the home side the lead, taking advantage of Napoli's temporary powerlessness. Gerard Moreno tested goalkeeper Milinkovic-Savic before Allegri was replaced by Lucca and Hojlund in the second half.
In the 86th minute, Oluwaseyi sealed the victory with a left-footed strike that allowed Villarreal to celebrate their victory before the final whistle. (PRIMASPORT)
