In the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid suffered an embarrassing defeat against second division team Albacete Balompie following the dismissal of coach Xabi Alonso.
A few days after their disappointing 3-2 defeat to FC Barcelona in the Supercopa final, Real Madrid continued their campaign in another cup competition: in the Copa del Rey, they faced second division side Albacete Balompie, who had knocked out first division side Celta Vigo in the round of 32.
Following the dismissal of Xabi Alonso, former Real player Alvaro Arbeola took over and made six changes: Lunin, Fran Garcia, Arda Güler, Mastantuono, Jimenez, and 19-year-old Cestero started in place of Courtois, Carreras, Camavinga, Rodrygo, Tchouameni, and Bellingham.
The home side were without Vallejo, who had been under contract with Los Blancos for many years, due to injury.
Real struggle
Real took control from the start, but the Madrid side found it extremely difficult to get in front of Raul Lizoain’s goal. The Royals tried their luck from distance, but Valverde’s first attempt failed to find the target (6′). However, Albacete also played courageously and created chances through quick counterattacks, but both José Carlos (12′) and Bernabeu (32′) sent the ball well wide of the opponent’s goal. Because Arda Güler (42′) and Mastantuono (40′) failed to finish attacks from promising positions, all signs pointed to a goalless draw at half-time. But not so for Albacete: The home side took the lead out of nowhere through Javi Villar, who nodded the ball under the bar from a corner to send the Estadio Caros Belmonte into raptures (42′). But Real came back before half-time, with Mastantuono pushing the ball over the line from close range (45’+3).
Albacete completes the sensation
The second half began exactly where the first had ended. Real started with some pressure, but it faded as quickly as it had begun. Albacete had found an effective remedy for the unsettled Madrilenians with quick counterattacks, but they were only able to break through the defensive block on rare occasions: first Gonzalo missed with a header (68′), then a shot from Vinicius was blocked (73′). And so Albacete smelled blood: while the second division side missed a double chance, Carvajal and Gonzalez inadvertently laid the ball right at the feet of Betancor Sanchez, who caught Lunin off guard with a volley in the penalty area (82′). Albacete now threw everything into defense, while Madrid pushed forward. And that paid off, because in the four minutes of added time, Gonzalo nodded in the equalizer (90+1). So, extra time? Not quite. As Madrid seemed desperate to avoid extra time and continued to push forward, spaces opened up at the back, which Betancor Sanchez exploited once again: the striker was sent on a run from his own half. Once in the penalty area, Carvajal blocked his first shot, but his second, a curling shot into the far corner, flew past the defender and Lunin into the net, sending the Estadio Carlos Belmonte into ecstasy. Because the home side ultimately survived one last long ball, the sensation was complete: second-division Albacete knocked Real Madrid out of the cup.
For Albacete, normality will return at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday at FC Cadiz after what was likely a sleepless night of partying. Real Madrid will face Levante UD a day earlier at 2 p.m. and will be under immense pressure given their recent string of defeats.
