A Tale of Two Submarines: Villarreal’s 25-26 season so far
By Rahul Lakhani
Villarreal are at the halfway point of their 2025-26 campaign, and ‘mixed’ is an understatement to say the least.
The Yellow Submarine returned to the Champions League for the first time in three years, but their comeback could not have possibly gone worse. One point from six games meant that by the end of 2025, Villarreal were out of contention for the knockout rounds.
Their European calamity was matched by yet another embarrassment in the Copa Del Rey, as they lost to Segunda Division leaders Racing Santander in the round of 32.
One would think such disastrous exits would be representative of a club in complete crisis, but when it comes to La Liga, Villarreal will be delighted with their current position.
Marcelino has led Villarreal to their best-ever record in a La Liga season at this stage of the campaign, and they are seven points behind second-place Real Madrid, with two games in hand.
The biggest question at Estadi De La Ceramica, though, is why there is such a disparity between the Villarreal we see at the weekends and the one we see in the cups.
Defiant defence in La Liga
Villarreal are fourth in the table with games in hand, and until the final gameweek before the break, were outside competitors in the title race.
The key to this has been in defence. Villarreal have conceded 15 goals in 16 games, the best record in the division, and Luiz Junior’s record of seven clean sheets is bettered only by Thibaut Courtois.
This comes despite a frustrating need to constantly change the back four. Santiago Mouriño , Juan Foyth and Alfonso Pedraza all suffered injuries in December, and the trio were absent as Villarreal ended the year with a defeat to Barcelona.
The credit for this defensive record should go to Marcelino. None of Villarreal’s defenders have individually stood out compared to some of their counterparts in La Liga. Villarreal loanee Carlos Romero has arguably been the best in his position in La Liga at Espanyol, and none of the Yellow Submarine’s current back four can say the same.
As a unit, the back line has fared well domestically, with plenty of quality in possession, but a problem in Europe has been their passive nature off the ball, with FC Copenhagen causing them nightmares when pressed intensely.
Catastrophe in the Cups
Villarreal made headlines for all the wrong reasons in December, as they were knocked out of the Champions League and the Copa Del Rey within two games.
They were already in a last-chance saloon in the Champions League heading into their home tie against Copenhagen, but any hope of redemption left as soon as the game kicked off.
Villarreal started as they meant to go on as they conceded in the first minute, and despite an attempted fightback, their usually solid defence was all over the place as they lost 3-2 at home.
Their next game came in the Copa Del Rey, with Villarreal’s La Liga trip to Levante postponed due to weather warnings in the Valencian region.
Marcelino’s side travelled to El Sardinero to face Segunda Division leaders Racing Santander, and expectations were high. Villarreal are a club who have historically underwhelmed in the Copa Del Rey, but this year presented a real opportunity to go far in the competition.
Yet again though, Villlarreal failed at an early hurdle, but the more worrying aspect was just how superior Racing were on the day. Every second ball fell to the home side, who pressed intensely and attacked with a lot more intent than the visitors.
Questions were raised amongst the fanbase at the utterly bizarre developments over the past few weeks. Rarely has such a positive league season been contrasted with such negative cup performances, but the Santander and Copenhagen defeats would be quickly forgotten if they could beat league leaders Barcelona to establish themselves as title challengers.
Barcelona brutality
The stage was set for Villarreal to end an overall positive 2025 on a very high note, as Barcelona came to Estadi De La Ceramica with an eight point lead, but with two extra games played.
This was significant. A win for Villarreal would have opened the door for Marcelino to leapfrog Hansi Flick in the table in the coming weeks, and without cup distractions, this would have made Villarreal title challengers, despite many in Spain questioning their credentials.
The team and fans were fired up, and early chances fell to Villarreal as Barcelona struggled to cope with their intensity. The lacklustre nature of their previous defeats was nowhere to be seen as the home side hounded Barcelona’s back line, despite Villarreal suffering from several injuries heading into the game.
However, all of these early chances were squandered, with Nicolas Pepe particularly frustrating with his finishing in key moments, Then, as Barcelona have done so often all season, their first real attack was a key one, as Raphinha won and coverted a penalty.
This did not dissuade Villarreal, with Alberto Moleiro and Tajon Buchanan continuing to earn chances in front of goal, but this was swiftly put to an end.
Renato Veiga, who has been the subject of criticism since his club-record move in the summer, had the unenviable task of trying to contain Lamine Yamal. With Villarreal clearly charged up for the game, there was a sense that Barcelona’s attack could be stopped with brute force.
Referee Javier Alborola Rojas thought Veiga took it too far. The Portugal International went into the back of Yamal as he went for the ball. A red card was instantly produced, much to the fury of the home team and crowd.
Marcelino fumed at the decision afterwards. Villarreal believe the red card was harsh at best. On a personal level, I was panned on social media for stating my belief that it was more deserving of a yellow. None of that mattered in the moment, as Villarreal’s already depleted back line lost their most senior defender.
This was the moment that killed any chance of a Villarreal comeback. They managed the game well, still producing the occasional opportunity whilst throwing their bodies around to protect their goal, but this wall was eventually breached as Yamal poked home to make it 2-0.
What next for Villarreal?
Villarreal are out of both cups, and an unlikely title challenge now appears to be dead in the water, but they are still in a strong position in La Liga. Third place looks very much attainable, and for the first time in the history of the club, back-to-back qualification for the Champions League is a real possibility.
There are some tactical and personnel issues to solve though. There is a lack of depth for Mouriño at right-back, which may need to be addressed in January. Midfield proved to be an issue in the Champions League, and the next Dani Parejo will need to be found somewhere. Velez Sarsfield star Thiago Fernandez will arrive on a free transfer in the coming days.
The depth Villarreal accrued in the summer did not help them compete on all fronts, and the loan signing of Manor Solomon is now looking like a mistake, with reports indicating that he could be sent back to Tottenham in January.
Upfront, record signing Georges Mikautadze looks lost despite his obvious talent, and his pairing with Ayoze Perez is yet to work out. Pepe’s strong early-season form looks a million miles away, with the winger yet to respond to his controversial AFCON omission with a goal.
Some tough games are on the horizon, but Villarreal are a side full of quality, with one of La Liga’s best managers at the helm. Returning to winning ways would bring the positivity back, and a few positive results will make the rest of the campaign very interesting with regard to a potential top three finish.
Domestic Delight marred by European Embarrassment: Villarreal CF 25/26 thus far
A summer of change
Villarreal headed into the 2025-26 season on the back of their busiest transfer window in history. Marcelino had a huge task on his hands after losing several key players, but there was plenty of ambition in their recruitment.
Losing the core of their attack in Thierno Barry, Karl Etta Eyong, Alex Baena, and Yeremy Pino was always going to take time to fix, but exciting replacements arrived. A record fee was spent on Georges Mikautadze, whilst Alberto Moleiro joined as a creative force out wide.
Several changes were also made in defence, with Renato Veiga and Santiago Mourino arriving as starters, and the fierce debate over the goalkeeping position took another turn as Arnau Tenas returned to Spain.
Manor Solomon and Thomas Partey arrived with Champions League experience under their belts as cheap market opportunities, and overall, Villarreal oversaw a window of huge transition.
Villarreal’s squad is now deeper than ever, but with more players to pick from, more headaches faced Marcelino. How could he bed in his new signings without giving them continuity, whilst also needing to rotate with the additional challenge of European fixtures?
The expectation was that integrating so many new players would take some time, but Villarreal began the season with two wins, two clean sheets and seven goals against Real Oviedo and Girona. However, the reality of one of the toughest fixture lists in world football dawned on the Yellow Submarine.
The toughest fixture list in football
Starting the season with a big injury list added to the problems, and a week in which Villarreal travelled to Atletico Madrid and Tottenham, and failed to score in both games, showed them how difficult their task was.
Vital wins over Sevilla, Osasuna and Athletic Club followed, with it becoming clear that whilst Nicolas Pepe and Santi Comesana were shining, the new boys and Alberto Moleiro in particular, would need more time to settle.
No team in the world faced as tough a schedule as Villarreal between the end of September and October. Seven tough opponents, one after the other, with long away trips would play a huge part in determining how Villarreal’s season would pan out.
Marcelino’s side battled to an impressive draw with Juventus, and Mikautadze continued his fine start with goals against the Italian giants and Real Madrid. Difficult games against two of the biggest clubs in the world were followed by a six-pointer against Real Betis.
In a heated encounter at Estadio De La Ceramica, Gerard Moreno returned from a long-term injury, but it was clear that the necessary rotation and the fixture list were beginning to take their toll.
Despite Villarreal taking a 2-0 lead, a brace from Antony rescued a point for Betis right at the end, and there was little time for the Yellows to lick their wounds.
Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola came to Villarreal next, and the home side were powerless to stop them taking all three points in the Champions League. This result was hardly a disaster, though, and it was followed by a first win at Mestalla since 2017, as Gerard scored in a 2-0 win over Valencia in the Derbi De La Comunitat.
At this point, Villarreal were flying, and they blew Inigo Perez’s impressive Rayo Vallecano away, with a statement 4-0 win at La Ceramica. Gerard was back from injury and better than ever, with Ayoze Perez also making a goalscoring return to action.
However, no one could have foreseen what happened next. Despite taking just one point from their first three Champions League games, the feeling at Villarreal was that the strength of their opposition, in Spurs, Juventus and Man City, meant that they were par for the course.
Embarrassment in Europe
Heading to Cyprus to face Pafos FC, Villarreal knew that a win was necessary if they were to start climbing the table. Then arrived a performance so poor that it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
A 1-0 defeat to Pafos made history for the Cypriot side, but caused significant anger within the club and amongst the fans.
The attitude of the same players who had been flying in La Liga was questioned, and Villarreal suddenly realised the difficult nature of competing in Europe’s top competition.
This meant that when Villarreal headed to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund, they knew they had a ‘cup final’ which would effectively be their last chance of finishing in the top 24.
Marcelino selected a side with a ‘trivot’ midfield, which has been the subject of debate amongst Villarreal fans: rather than employing his usual 4-4-2 with wingers on both sides, and were the better team in the first half.
Disaster followed in the form of several controversial refereeing decisions, and Villarreal collapsed. Juan Foyth saw red, and Dortmund won 4-0, crushing any remaining optimism that Villarreal could compete in Europe this season.
Consistency and control
Despite the disastrous Champions League campaign, Villarreal enjoyed their best-ever start to a La Liga season, with 29 points from 13 games and their only defeats in this period coming against Atletico and Real Madrid.
Gerard has led Villarreal to third place with some truly world-class performances since returning from injury, and the Yellow Submarine are keeping pace with the big three, whilst knowing that performances could still hit a new level.
The best is yet to come from new signings such as Renato Veiga and Mikautadze, although question marks still remain over Partey and Solomon, who has hardly featured.
Moleiro has improved with every passing game, whilst Comesana and Pape Gueye have established themselves as two of the best central midfielders in La Liga.
When it comes to their domestic results, there is a perception of consistency and control. Villarreal have won the games they expected to win, but in line with this consistency, failed to land a punch away at the two Madrid giants.
There is a feeling of optimism within the club. Villarreal have never qualified for the Champions League in back-to-back seasons, but a top-four spot looks very much attainable if they can maintain their excellent league form, and the financial rewards this would bring cannot be understated.
Controversy in contrast
Off-pitch controversy has followed the name of Villarreal throughout the campaign. The signing of Partey caused outcry from sections of the fanbase, and this was followed by the announcement that Villarreal and Barcelona had agreed to play each other in Miami.
With the Miami game now cancelled following league-wide protests, this clash could end up being Villarreal’s biggest league game in several years.
If Marcelino can keep pace with Hansi Flick heading into late December, the potential would be there for Villarreal to leapfrog Barcelona with a victory at La Ceramica, which would be an unprecedented and remarkable achievement for a club which has constantly punched above its weight.
Whilst there is some disappointment over the Champions League campaign, the nature of a transitional campaign is that not everything will be perfect, but unlike previous years, a European exit may not be a long-term goodbye.