Arbeloa's debut turns sour as Madrid crash out in classic cup upset

Real Madrid’s week has gone from bad to worse as Álvaro Arbeloa’s first match in charge ended in a textbook cup upset against lowly Albacete.

Cup calamity

You can’t entirely pin this one on Arbeloa, to be fair. The gaffer’s only just got his feet under the desk, and his team selection seemed reasonable enough on paper. But blimey, that’s two trophies binned in a single week for Los Blancos, and this performance was more dreary than downright dreadful.

The new boss might be wondering what he’s got himself into after watching his side serve up a proper dog’s dinner of a display - lacking any sort of urgency or creative spark when it mattered most.

Toothless attack

Perhaps the warning signs were there when Arbeloa only named three forwards in his squad. A curious decision that came back to bite him as Madrid struggled to break down their lower-league opponents.

Vinicius, usually the man to provide some magic, found himself completely pocketed by Aguado who gave the Brazilian absolutely no joy throughout. The Brazilian couldn’t buy a yard of space all evening.

Meanwhile, young Mastantuono continued his frustrating run of form, offering precious little until a solitary decent effort just before the break. The lad’s clearly talented but needs to start showing it more consistently at this level.

What next?

It’s back to the drawing board for Arbeloa, who’s had about as rough a start as you could imagine. The honeymoon period? Over before it began, mate.

Real Madrid now find themselves in the unusual position of having two competitions knocked off their to-do list before we’ve even reached February. Their focus narrows to La Liga and Champions League, but the new manager will need to spark some life into this squad sharpish.

For Albacete, it’s a famous night they’ll be rabbiting on about for years to come - the textbook cup giant-killing that Spanish football’s knockout competition is renowned for.