Villarreal CF suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in La Liga after losing 1-2 to Real Betis in the match corresponding to the fourth matchday, played on September 14, 2026. Gerard Moreno put the Yellow Submarine ahead in the 28th minute with a finish following an assist from Renato Veiga, but Betis responded strongly before halftime. Cucho Hernández equalized in the 39th minute and Souza completed the turnaround in the 43rd, leaving Íñigo Pérez’s side pointless after four games.
Real Betis reached 12 points in the table and climbed to second place, level with Real Madrid, while Villarreal remain 18th with only 2 points and a goal difference of -2. Manuel Pellegrini celebrated his 150th victory as Betis head coach and praised his squad’s commitment: “12 out of 15 points is a very good return.”. Meanwhile, Íñigo López admitted Villarreal’s defensive struggles: “It’s true we are having many defensive problems and I haven’t been able to fix them so far”.
During the match, Betis dominated with 26 shots on target in the first half compared to just 8 from Villarreal, while goalkeeper gulacsi made 10 saves to keep Villarreal in the game. Dani Ceballos made his Betis debut in this fixture, and Abde returned to the starting XI after his adaptation period. For Villarreal, Natan Bernardo de Souza scored an own goal from a corner kick, and Buchanan had a goal disallowed for offside in the 18th minute. Mikautadze tested Valles from distance, but his effort was saved.
Villarreal manager Íñigo Pérez faces a difficult transition following Marcelino’s departure, and the team has failed to win any of their last five matches (0W-1D-4L), with recent form reading LLLLD. The next fixture is on September 17 against Málaga CF, currently 17th in La Liga. Supporters can check the full schedule on our fixtures page and review the squad status via squad.
Background and full detail: El País Deportes
