Álvaro Arbeloa's era at Real Madrid has started the worst way possible: his first match following Xabi Alonso's exit was a 3-2 defeat against Albacete, a second division team in round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, Spanish Cup. Real Madrid has been eliminated from the competition.
Arbeloa chose a team with many reserve players: without Mbappé, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Tchouameni, and Courtois, and a big presence of reserve players like David Jiménez and Cestero, in the starting line-up, with César Palacios, Sergio Mestre, Joan Martínez and Miguel Ángel joining in the second half, when things really turned south.
Although a former Real Madrid youth player, Javi Villar, scored the opening goal in the first half, Franco Mastantuono scored right before halftime. However, Jefté Betancor scored a goal in the 82nd minute that put Real Madrid against the ropes: under pressure, Gonzalo García equalised the match.
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But Madrid, convinced they could win the match before injury time, increased the pressure... and Betancor, in the last minute, used a counter-attack to give Albacete the victory. Real Madrid has been eliminated from Spanish Cup and will now focus on LaLiga and Champions League.