A late winner from Manuel Trigueros saw Villarreal secure a 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest but results elsewhere meant they had to settle for second place in their Europa League group.
He struck took two minutes from the end to propel his side to the victory but it wasn't enough for first place as Osmanlispor scored two late goals to take top spot themselves.
It took just 15 minutes for Villarreal to score a deserved opener when Mario Gaspar crossed for Sansone and although the Italian's initial strike was kept out, he made no mistake with the follow up.
Both those players went close to adding a second before the break after an impressive opening 45 minutes but they were made to pay for failing to make the most of their chances when Steaua levelled.
Ten minutes into the second half, substitute Vlad Achim had an instant impact when he hit the net seconds after entering the field of play to stun El Madrigal.
Cedric Bakambu had his chances to regain the lead, while Sergio Asenjo was also called upon to keep out the Romanian side at the other end as the game reached the closing stages.
A red card for Gabriel Tamas handed Villarreal the perfect opportunity to go on and find the winner, which they did two minutes from time when a sublime chip from Trigueros left Nita stranded and secured qualification for the Spanish side.
- Match sheet:
2 - Villarreal: Asenjo, Mario, Musacchio (Álvaro, m.39), Víctor Ruiz, Jaume Costa, Jonathan Dos Santos, Bruno, Trigueros, Soriano, Sansone (Santos Borré, m.79), Bakambu (Rodri, m.85).
1 - Steaua Bucharest: Nita, Tamas, Moke, Tosca, Momcilovic, Enache (Golubovic, m.46), Pintilii (Achim, m.55), Bourceanu, Amorim, Popa, Boldrin (Popescu, m.77).
Goals: 1-0, m.15: Sansone. 1-1,m.56: Achim. 2-1, m.88: Trigueros.
Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Germany).
Yellow cards: Bakambu, Enache, Achim, Tamas, Golubovic.
Red Card: Tamas (m. 79)
El Madrigal (Villarreal): Attendance, 20.000.
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