Real Madrid knocked out of Copa del Rey by Albacete in Arbeloa’s managerial debut | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s crisis compounds after suffering a monumental 3-2 defeat against Albacete in the Copa del Rey Round of 16 last night.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s managerial debut couldn’t get any worse, with Los Blancos failing against a second-division team to get knocked out of two tournaments in the space of a few days.

Javi Villar struck home from a corner kick to provide the lead for Albacete, taking advantage of Madrid’s passive defending.

Thankfully, Franco Mastantuono equalised minutes later after poking home from close range on the rebound.

As the game approached the final quarter, the home side upped their ante and looked more dangerous, while a second-string Madrid side started to become shaky.

However, Andriy Lunin produced back-to-back stunning saves against Riki Rodriguez and Agus Medina to keep the scoreboard intact for the time being.

Former Madrid player Jefte Betancor put Albacete in front after striking home a half-volley effort, which Lunin failed to deal with this time.

Los Blancos striker Gonzalo Garcia headed home the equaliser in the injury time to set up a thrilling finale.

However, Betancor put a dagger in Madrid’s heart after scoring the winner from a difficult angle in the eleventh hour.

Succeeding Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa failed in the baptism of fire as Madrid looked substandard without the key figures like Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo and Antonio Rudiger.

Especially, their attack looked toothless without Mbappe and Rodrygo, while Vinicius put in a shoddy performance. 

Albacete’s strong and disciplined defence nullified the Brazilian’s threat, while his shot accuracy was way off the mark.

After the Spanish Super Cup defeat against Barcelona on Sunday, Madrid have now been thrown out of two tournaments in the blink of an eye.

They have only La Liga and the Champions League to fight for, but that’s a long way to go. The odds are also stacked against them due to their prevalent crisis and Arbeloa’s lack of experience.