Spanish La Liga side Villarreal have lost their unbeaten run in this season's UEFA Europa Conference League after falling to an away defeat at Polish side Lech Poznan.
Poznan grabbed a surprising 3-0 victory over Villarreal on Thursday night in front of their home fans at the Poznan Stadium, condemning the group leaders to their first defeat of the season in the competition.
Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze took no part in the match as the 23-year-old was left on the bench for the entire duration of the match by Villarreal coach Quique Setien.
Wasteful Villarreal falls to Lech Poznan
Lech Poznan went into the Matchday 6 fixture in Europe's third-tier competition knowing that they need at least a draw to see off Hapoel Be'er Sheva's charge for the much-coveted second place in the group.
With qualification and top of the group already secured, Villarreal chose to start with a second-string starting XI with Arnaut Danjuma, Dani Parejo, Alberto Moreno, and Chukwueze all named on the bench.
The Yellow Submarines dominated Poznan all through the beginning exchanges but their forward line could only muster one (1) shot on target during the first period.
Despite playing on the counterattack, Poznan were the one to break the deadlock, with Kristoffer Velde finding the back of the net in the 27th minute.
Skoras routs Villarreal with second-half brace
Villarreal continued to do the pressing (having 73% of the total ball possession) but Lech Poznan continued to do the scoring with unerring precision (scoring 3 goals from just 5 shots on target).
22-year-old Polish striker Michal Skoras scored a second-half brace (51st & 77th minute) to give the home side an unassailable three-goal advantage over Villarreal.
With less than a third of the match to go, Villarreal coach Setien brought on Danjuma, Parejo, Moreno, Etienne Capoue, and Kiko Fermenia but left Chukwueze on the bench as he tried to claw the game back.
The game ended 3-0 but Villarreal maintained their top-of-the-table spot while Poznan's win saw them through to the knockout playoffs despite Hapoel Be'er Sheva's big win over Austria Wien.