Villarreal rallies to rout Napoli 3-1 in the Champions League

Napoli got on the board in the 7th minute at the Estadio de la Cerámica, and for a stretch it looked like the night might get complicated for Villarreal. It did not turn out that way: in just 18 minutes the home side flipped the scoreline and went on to win 3-1 in the Champions League, with a late goal in the 85th sealing the final tally.

Napoli's opener came straight from the training ground: a corner kick, Billy Gilmour whipped in the cross, and Amir Rrahmani got on the end of it to finish from close range and make it 0-1. Villarreal, who had held a bit more of the possession up to that point, needed fifteen minutes to respond with any real clarity, though there had already been warning signs from Mikautadze and Pape Gueye.

The response came in a hurry, a one-two punch within a matter of minutes. In the 22nd minute, Georges Mikautadze struck a left-footed shot from the left side that found the middle of the goal to make it 1-1. Three minutes later, Santiago Mouriño fired a right-footed effort from outside the box that crept in right next to the post off an assist from Gerard Moreno, and the scoreboard already read 2-1 before the half-hour mark.

That lead held until halftime, and the second half turned into an end-to-end affair without further goals for a long stretch: Rasmus Højlund rattled the crossbar just before the break, and once play resumed, he, Rrahmani and Lorenzo Lucca all had clear chances to equalize that failed to find the net. Villarreal, for their part, kept pushing through Tani Oluwaseyi and Alex Freeman, with several changes already on the field after the introductions of Oluwaseyi, Alex Freeman, Juan Foyth, Ayoze Pérez and Sergi Cardona.

The clincher came in the 85th minute: Ayoze Pérez set up Tani Oluwaseyi, who finished with his left foot from the center of the box to make it a final 3-1, a scoreline that held firm despite three minutes of stoppage time.

What the numbers say

Villarreal were somewhat more dominant on the ball, but Napoli generated more danger in terms of clear-cut chances. Here is the statistical snapshot of the match:

The most striking figure is the xG estimated after the fact from the match's shots: 1.60 for Villarreal against 2.44 for Napoli. By that reading, the Italian side created more dangerous chances than their opponents but failed in the finishing, while Villarreal were far more clinical with the opportunities they had.

Before the match, our projection gave Villarreal a 39% chance of winning, a 29% chance of a draw and a 32% chance for Napoli, with expected goals of 1.41 for the home side and 1.28 for the visitors. The final result proved more decisive than that preview suggested: what looked like an even matchup swung clearly in Villarreal's favor, as they scored three goals against the little more than one goal projected for their attack.

What the result means in the standings

In the Champions League group phase, Villarreal move to 3 points after two matches played (one win and one loss), while Napoli remain without points after two defeats. The gap between the two sides in the table stands at 3 points. With only two matchdays played, the standings still say little about each team's true level, but for Napoli, who had also lost their opening fixture, the need for points is starting to be felt, while Villarreal can take satisfaction in a win that confirms what they showed in the decisive first twenty-five minutes of the match.