Slipped to a disappointing draw with Cadiz on Saturday afternoon.
The Yellows had chances aplenty in Andalusia, but couldn’t see off a Cadiz side who are likely to spend this season battling the drop.
Having said that, the home side did have chances of their own, dominating much of the last 20 minutes.
Nicolas Jackson had the bulk of the chances for the Yellows, firing a defelcted effort on target early on, only to be denied by Jeremias Ledesma in the Cadiz goal.
Ledesma denied Jackson again shortly after when the Villarreal striker picked up a loose ball in the area.
And Jackson had another great chance in the second half when he burst through on goal, only for Ledesma to score again.
The striker then turned provided to create a perfect chance for Giovani Lo Celso, but the Argentine somehow managed to put it wide.
Cadiz had chances here and there, though one of their closest efforts came in the first half when a deflected cross had to be pawed away by Geronimo Rulli.
The home side also called Rulli into action in the 81st minute when Choco Lozano was allowed to run clean through on goal.
A fine save from Rulli, who stuck out a leg to cover the side of his near post.
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After a period of domination from the hosts, Villarreal stepped things up in the final minutes, and Arnaut Danjuma may well have won it had he not been tactically pulled back by Izi when breaking through on goal.
Danjuma, off balance, wound up missing, and Izi was sent off for his actions, taking one for his team.
It worked, too, with Cadiz able to hold on for a valuable point. For Villarreal, it’s a disappointing result, and one that bring disappointing signs of last season, when they couldn’t see off ‘lesser’ opposisiton, even when creating chances.