The Submarine, after being champions in 2021, return to the competition in which they the most wins and scored the most goals since the change of format
Villarreal CF return to the UEFA Europa League. They will do so more than two years after they won the competition, in epic fashion, in an interminable penalty shoot-out against Manchester United (1-1), on 26th May 2021 in Gdansk (Poland).
Since then, the Submarine have continued to be involved in continental competition. They have played in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. The Yellows side reached the semi-finals of Europe’s top competition in 2021/22 and were the first Spanish team to participate in the new continental tournament 2022/23.
Now, Villarreal return to the Europa League with the dream of repeating the historic triumph they achieved in 2021. The first continental hurdle will be to get past the group stage. Drawn in Group F alongside Panathinaikos, Rennes and Maccabi Haifa, the Yellows will visit the Greek inferno this Thursday, at 6:45pm CEST.
Historic numbers in the Europa League
In recent years, Villarreal CF has become one of the classic UEFA Europa League sides. Especially since it abandoned its old format in the 2009/10 campaign. Under the new format, the Yellows have played the most games (88), won the most (49) and scored the most goals (152) in this competition.
In total, between the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup, the Submarine have played a total of 11 years in the competition. They have played 127 matches, with a record of 73 wins, 30 draws and 24 defeats. In this period, they have scored 228 goals and conceded just 125 goals.
Since 2021, the Submarine are one of only 29 teams to have won the title in the 53 seasons that this competition has been active, since its inception in 1971. The Submarine won it in the 50th edition of this special tournament, becoming the fifth Spanish team to win the trophy after Sevilla FC, Atlético de Madrid, Real Madrid and Valencia CF.
Other teams that have fallen just short of glory include Athletic Club, RCD Espanyol and Deportivo Alavés, who all know what it is like to take part in the final of this competition.
