football
Alvaro Arbeloa’s debut as coach at Real Madrid went badly wrong. The “Royals” embarrassed themselves on Wednesday with a 2-3 defeat at second division club Albacete in the round of 16 of the Spanish Cup. “If anyone is responsible for it, it is me,” said the 42-year-old after the game, “because I made the decisions regarding the line-up, the style of play and the substitutions.”
As expected, Arbeloa had used some players from the B team against Albacete, so top stars Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo were rested. Vinicius Junior started but was largely ineffective as Real struggled to create scoring chances. ÖFB star David Alaba came on as a substitute for Real in the 65th minute when the score was 1-1.
Jefte became the match winner for Albacete with a late brace (82nd, 94th). Shortly before, Gonzalo Garcia (91st) had equalized for the Madrilenians with a header. The interim 1-1 was scored by Franco Mastantuono (45th + 3). In the decisive goal, Dani Carvajal first blocked a shot from Jefte as a result of a counterattack, but then did not attack, allowing the striker to make a remarkable chip into the far corner.
Second low blow within a few days
“In this club, even a draw is bad, a tragedy,” said Real coach Arbeloa. “Imagine a loss like this, especially against a lower league opponent.” For Real Madrid it was the second low blow in just a few days. After Sunday’s 3-2 defeat in Jeddah in the Super Cup final against FC Barcelona, coach Xabi Alonso had to leave. In the Primera Division title fight, the “White Ballet” is four points behind the Catalans after 19 rounds.
The end also came for Elche. Despite an assist from defense chief David Affengruber for a 1-0 lead, the LaLiga promoted team lost 2-1 away to league rivals Betis Sevilla.
