Villarreal lifted the cup again after four and a half years without triumphing in the Champions League, by beating Naples 3-1 on the second day of the 2026-27 edition. The visitor's opening goal, scored by Rrahmani in the 8th minute, left the Spanish team with a deficit that was barely recovered, but the comeback was sealed thanks to the contributions of Mikautadze, Mourinho and Oluwaseyi, who scored two of the three goals that guaranteed victory at La Cerámica.
This result breaks a negative streak that began in April 2022, when Villarreal beat Bayern 1-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals, with a goal from Danjuma, then a Valencia player. Since then, the Spanish team had played twelve games in the competition, ending with three draws and nine defeats, seven of them consecutive. The bad streak began with a 1-1 draw in Munich in the second leg and continued with the semifinals against Liverpool, where the team lost 2-0 and 2-3 in both matches.
The two-season break was interrupted when Villarreal returned to the Champions League last season, albeit with a very poor performance. In their first match, they drew 2-2 with Juventus, but then suffered defeats against Tottenham (1-0), Manchester City (0-2), Paphos (1-0), Dortmund (4-0), Copenhagen (2-3), Ajax (1-2) and Leverkusen (3-0). The second match of the current campaign, against Dortmund, ended 3‑2 in favor of the opponent, which marked the worst streak of consecutive defeats and matches without a win in European competition.
With the victory over Naples, Villarreal not only ends the longest streak of defeats in the Champions League, but also closes the worst European record without winning in any competition, with nine games without a victory. Their last European victory before this triumph was 3‑1 against Olympique de Marseille in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16, in 2024.
The result opens up new possibilities for the team in the group stage, which now faces a group with high-level teams. Coach Íñigo Pérez and his squad must maintain the momentum gained to advance to the next phase and consolidate the club's reputation as a competitor of the European elite. The next matchday will pit them against a rival who is also looking for a decisive victory, which will see Villarreal continue their search for consistent performance in the top continental competition.