OneFootball
·15. Januar 2026
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsOneFootball
·15. Januar 2026
Hard times for Real Madrid. The Blancos are experiencing the craziest week of the year, and not in a good way. First, the painful defeat in the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona, then the consequent dismissal of Xabi Alonso and the discontent among the big players.
Finally, last night, the absurd elimination from the Copa del Rey at the hands of Albacete, a club playing in the Segunda Division.
Alvaro Arbeloa's debut on the Real bench, in short, couldn't have gone worse.
Many big players were missing, it's true, including Mbappé, Militao, Rodrygo, Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Mendy, Courtois, Bellingham, Tchouameni, Carreras, and Brahim Díaz.

However, to beat a team deep in the relegation zone in Serie B, the second-string players should have been enough, especially if reinforced by the likes of Vinicius, Arda Güler, Valverde, and Mastantuono. Instead, on the field, Real appeared too confident in their superiority, even though they were always forced to chase.
Not even the equalizer in the 90'+1 by the usual Gonzalo Garcia was enough to avoid the blunder. Three minutes later, Lunin was caught off guard by a lob from Betancor, which set off a roaring Estadio Carlos Belmonte, truly the extra man for the home team yesterday.
Arbeloa, who is expected to remain in charge until the end of the season, did not make the best impression. Real thus abandons the second seasonal objective, having already lost the Super Cup. With Barcelona 4 points ahead in La Liga and a Champions League where the Blancos do not seem the strongest team, the risk of another trophy-less season is more real than ever.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
📸 Denis Doyle - 2026 Getty Images









































