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.