Politano shoulders blame for Napoli’s defeat at Villarreal

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Matteo Politano took responsibility for Napoli’s defeat after his error helped Villarreal to a 3-1 win in Tuesday’s Champions League clash.

Amir Rrahmani gave Napoli an early lead at El Madrigal, heading home eight minutes in after Billy Gilmour’s floated cross towards the back post.

However, Villarreal levelled 15 minutes later when Politano’s poor pass backwards was intercepted by Georges Mikautadze, who converted from a tight angle after drawing out Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

A stunning strike from Santiago Mourino sent Inigo Perez’s side ahead just three minutes after their equaliser before Tani Oluwaseyi’s late strike sealed all three points.

Having played such a key role in Villarreal’s response, Politano shouldered the blame immediately after the full-time whistle.

“I am sorry for the error, I take responsibility, and I know that I made a challenging match more difficult,” Politano told Sky Sport Italia.

“I already apologised to my team-mates and now to the fans. We had chances to get back into it, but then we got a bit too stretched out in the second half.”

Villarreal come from behind to win #UCL https://t.co/xXhn3MThNt

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 13, 2026

Massimiliano Allegri’s side had chances to extend their early lead, with Rasmus Hojlund denied by the woodwork from Politano’s cross moments before the Napoli winger’s mistake.

Hojlund then wasted another opportunity on the volley to level in the second half, while Kevin De Bruyne’s delivery narrowly evaded both Lorenzo Lucca and Giovanni Di Lorenzo before Villarreal’s third goal.

“Aside from the two goals conceded, we did well in the first half and created lots of chances,” Politano added.

“After the break, we made a lot of mistakes, and Villarreal were far more of a team unit.

“I feel what we need to rediscover now is to learn how to defend together and then attack together, because we don’t have that unity.”

The defeat may raise pressure on Allegri, given Napoli have lost three consecutive Champions League games for just the second time, previously doing so between February and September 2017.

By contrast, Villarreal’s victory ended a 12-game winless streak, and a run of seven defeats in a row, in this competition.

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