Politano apologises for costly error as Villarreal come from behind to beat Napoli

Politano takes the blame after Napoli collapse

Matteo Politano accepted responsibility for Napoli's defeat after a poor pass helped Villarreal to a 3-1 come-from-behind win in Tuesday's Champions League clash at El Madrigal.

Amir Rrahmani had given Napoli an early lead, heading home eight minutes in from 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.

'I take responsibility'

Having been central to Villarreal's response, Politano shouldered the blame immediately after the final 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."

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

Missed chances for Napoli

Massimiliano Allegri's side had chances to extend their early lead. Rasmus Hojlund was denied by the woodwork from Politano's cross moments before the winger's mistake, and later wasted another opportunity on the volley to level in the second half. Kevin De Bruyne's delivery also narrowly evaded both Lorenzo Lucca and Giovanni Di Lorenzo before Villarreal's third goal.

Pressure on Allegri

The defeat may raise pressure on Allegri, as Napoli have now lost three consecutive Champions League games for only the second time, the previous instance coming between February and September 2017.

For Villarreal, the victory ended a 12-game winless streak in this competition and a run of seven straight defeats.