Albacete 3-2 Real Madrid: Arbeloa endures nightmare start

Alvaro Arbeloa endured a nightmare debut as Real Madrid coach as Los Blancos suffered a stunning 3-2 loss to second-tier Albacete in the Copa del Rey.

Arbeloa was swiftly appointed by Madrid after Xabi Alonso was relieved of his duties in the wake of their Supercopa de Espana final loss to arch rivals Barcelona.

But a Madrid side that was a long way from full strength suffered humiliation at the hands of a side 17th in the Segunda, as Albacete prevailed thanks to Jefte Betancor’s sublime 95th-minute winner.

Javi Villar headed Albacete into the lead in the last-16 tie, only for Franco Mastantuono to quickly level.

Betancor’s far-post finish eight minutes from the end of normal time restored Albacete’s advantage, before it was erased again by Gonzalo Garcia’s 91st-minute header.

Yet there was a final twist in the tale as a long clearance sent Betancor free down the left channel and into the box. After seeing his first effort blocked, he produced an exquisitely composed follow-up that looped into the far corner to send the Carlos Belmonte into raptures and condemn Arbeloa to a dismal start that will immediately place him under substantial pressure.

Albacete stun Real Madrid

Major chances proved hard to come by for much of the first half as Madrid were frustrated by their lower-league hosts.

Fede Valverde fired wide with a long-range effort early on, but the Madrid onslaught most might have expected did not materialise, and Albacete produced a warning shot when Dani Bernabéu surged in from the left on an excellent individual run but failed to find the telling finish.

Yet Albacete did stunningly take the lead in the 42nd minute as Villar met José Carlos Lazo’s corner with a fine near-post header.

Albacete’s joy was short-lived, though, Mastantuono restoring parity with a routine finish from close range after Dean Huijsen’s header had been kept out by Lizoain.

A member of the Albacete coaching staff was shown a red card at half-time as they protested Madrid being allowed to take the corner from which they scored in the third minute of injury time after two had been signalled by the fourth official.

Still, Madrid struggled to build much in the way of momentum in the second half following the leveller, though Gonzalo Garcia wasted a gilt-edged chance when he headed narrowly over from a corner.

And Madrid would be made to rue that miss as Betancor took full advantage of their inability to deal with a ball into the box as he fired underneath Andriy Lunin on the half-volley.

Extra time looked inevitable when Garcia turned home from Arda Guler’s corner after intense Madrid pressure. However, Betancor rescued Albacete from the challenge of the extra half hour with a goal that will see his name written into club folklore as Madrid’s season hit a new low.