Arbeola in pressure right after the first match - Madrid loses to second division club Albacete Balompie in Copa del Rey
In a shocking Copa del Rey upset, second-tier Albacete Balompié defeated Real Madrid 3-2 at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte, marking Álvaro Arbeloa's managerial debut after Xabi Alonso's exit.
Last Updated: 10.18 AM, Jan 15, 2026
n one of the most seismic upsets in recent Copa del Rey history, second-tier Albacete Balompié dumped Real Madrid out of the competition with a 3-2 victory at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte. On a night that was supposed to usher in a new era for Los Blancos, it instead exposed a club in deep tactical and emotional disarray.
Chaos at the Belmonte
The match served as the managerial debut for Álvaro Arbeloa, who was thrust into the hot seat just days ago following the shock departure of Xabi Alonso.
Arbeloa opted for a youthful, experimental side, handing starts to teenage sensation Franco Mastantuono and academy product Gonzalo García, while resting stars like Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham.
The gamble backfired early. Albacete, currently struggling in the bottom half of the Segunda División, played with a feral intensity that Madrid’s youngsters couldn’t match. In the 42nd minute, the stadium erupted when Javi Villar, a former Madrid academy player, ghosted past a static defense to nod home the opener.
Madrid responded in the dying seconds of the first half. Mastantuono showed why the club fought so hard for his signature, smashing a left-footed strike into the roof of the net after a goal-mouth scramble.
At 1-1, the status quo seemed restored, but the second half would prove otherwise.
The introduction of Jefté Betancor from the Albacete bench changed everything. In the 82nd minute, Betancor clinically finished a counter-attack to make it 2-1.
Madrid appeared to have saved their blushes in the 91st minute when Gonzalo García headed home an equalizer, seemingly forcing extra time.
However, with the very last play of the game in the 94th minute, Betancor struck again, firing a low shot past Andriy Lunin to trigger a pitch invasion and send the capital giants packing.
The fallout at Bernebeue?
This defeat is not merely a "bad day at the office"; it is a full-blown institutional crisis. The fallout is expected to be felt across three key areas:
The lack of defensive structure against a Segunda side has raised questions about his readiness for the role.
Coming off a recent Supercopa loss to Barcelona, the pressure on the veteran core (Carvajal, Valverde, and Vinícius) to deliver a major trophy has reached a breaking point.