Politano admits his error cost Napoli at Villarreal

Matteo Politano did not hide after Napoli's 3-1 defeat at Villarreal. The vice-captain took the blame for the mistake that let Villarreal back into the game. "Dispiace per l'errore, ci metto la faccia," he said — sorry for the error, I take responsibility.

Napoli had started well. Rrahmani struck the woodwork, then made amends by scoring in the 8th minute. But in the 23rd minute came the back-pass Politano referred to, which Mikautadze punished to make it 1-1. Three minutes later, Mouriño completed Villarreal's turnaround. The game never swung back Napoli's way.

The second half brought an attempt at a response: five substitutions between the 60th and 72nd minutes, with Spinazzola, Lang, Neres, Lobotka and Lucca all introduced to change the game's direction. It was not enough. Oluwaseyi settled the scoring at 3-1 in the 86th minute.

loro sono stati più squadra di noi

Politano's verdict — that Villarreal were more of a team than Napoli — holds up against what the match showed: a side that scores, concedes quickly, tries to correct itself, and concedes again.

It is Napoli's second defeat in as many Champions League league-phase games, leaving them on zero points. Admitting the mistake in front of the media is a starting point, not an endpoint. The team spirit Politano spoke of is measured on the pitch, and for now the pitch says the opposite.