Albacete beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the round of 16 of the “Copa del Rey”, in a match played on their home field by the team from the second division of Spanish football in which Jefte Betancor was the “hero” of the hosts, the latter entering during the game and managing to score twice to bring the qualification of the group that left with a second chance to victory before the starting whistle. The team trained, for the first time, by Alvaro Arbeloa, equalized on the scoreboard each time, but was not able to send the match into extra time, so that the “los blancos” formation was out of the race for a title this season, a few days after losing another trophy of the season, the “Spanish Super Cup”.

Real Madrid traveled to Valencia to “face off” with Albacete, a club currently in the second tier of Spanish football, precisely to play the match in the round of 16 of the “Copa del Rey”. The team from the “Bernabeu” showed up for this match, after the failure suffered in the final of the “Spanish Super Cup”, in Saudi Arabia, a defeat that was the “last straw” for the team’s management and which led to the dismissal of Xabi Alonso from the technical bench. In place of the Basque coach, the president of the band from the capital of Spain, Florentino Perez, along with other members of the club’s leadership, decided to appoint Alvaro Arbeloa, the former right-back of the “Galacticos”.

The latter, most recently, manager of Real Madrid Castilla, signed a contract valid for a season and a half, according to information published in the Spanish daily Diario AS. The former Real Madrid player from 2009-2016 decided to rely on a group of young players in this “Copa del Rey” clash, such as David Jimenez, Cestero Sancho, Gonzalo Garcia and Franco Mastantuono, among others, and to rest for the LaLiga match against Levante some “stars” from the Madrid squad, such as Rodrygo, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham or Thibaut Courtois.

In the previous round of this competition, Albacete had managed to defeat Celta Vigo, in their own “home”, at the end of the penalty kicks, after at the end of the two extra periods, the score was 2-2. On the other hand, Real Madrid had achieved a “tortured” success in the company of CF Talavera, a single goal making the difference between the two teams, although the “galactics” had a double advantage on the scoreboard. In the last five meetings that took place on their home field, Albacete recorded three defeats and two victories, and the recent trips of the “los blancos” band have delivered to the team’s accounts four triumphs and a single failure, the one recorded in Jeddah, against FC Barcelona, ​​in “El-Clasico”.

Albacete and Real Madrid had not faced each other in an official direct match since 2005, when the group from the “Bernabeu” would prevail, away, with the final score of 2-1, in the round number 30 of that season in the Spanish first league. The match that took place at the “Carlos Belmonte” arena started with a passive game displayed by both teams, and the opening of the score occurred towards the end of the first act, in the 42nd minute, when the cross sent from a corner kick by Jose Lazo was resumed from the crowd of players in the penalty area by Javi Villar, who placed the ball in an ideal way and did not allow Andriy Lunin to intervene.

However, the score of the first half would be established in the extra time minutes by the team coached by Alvaro Arbeloa, at which point, also from a corner, this time launched by the Turkish footballer of the “galactics”, Arda Guler, Dean Huijsen, in the first phase, hit with his head, but Raul Lizoain displayed a reflex of great days. On the move, Franco Mastantuono won the lead in a duel with a home center defender and pushed the ball into the opposing goal to set the balance on the scoreboard before entering the cabins.

In the second half, the first big opportunity came from Albacete, when, being in a central position, at a considerable distance from the opposing goal, Antonio Pacheco decided to shoot hard, and the ball that “bite” from the grass, was rejected to the side by the Ukrainian goalkeeper of Real Madrid. Then, Lorenzo crossed on foot, inside the box, but, from the mouth of the “Madrid” goal, Agus Medina sent it past the left post of the team from the capital of Spain. The second goal of the second division would be recorded in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Agus Medina’s cross was mistakenly headed away by Gonzalo Garcia, and the substitute Jefte Betancor fired a powerful volley from the first-half, which was met by Andriy Lunin, but bounced off the Real Madrid net and gave the second-tier team the lead. The players trained by Alvaro Arbeloa began to press the opposition’s goal even more, and another set piece would make the difference on the scoreboard, as Arda Guler crossed into the penalty area, and Gonzalo Garcia “took revenge” for the mistake he made for the third goal of the game, beating Raul Lizoain from close range.

As the game headed into extra time, the hosts struck again, when Jefte Betancor was sent deep by one of his teammates and, after showing a speed superior to that of Dani Carvajal, he tried to finish from a tricky angle. In the first instance, his execution was blocked by the right-back of the “los blancos” group, but his second attempt, sent with great effect, took Andriy Lunin by surprise, and the goal in the last phase of the game triggered delirium in the stands of the stadium.

Albacete achieved a historic qualification against Real Madrid, and the group from the second division in Spain advanced to the quarter-finals of the domestic competition. Next, the team that caused a surprise in the company of the “Galacticos” will play in the domestic championship, where they currently occupy 17th place, against Cadiz, while the “los blancos” group shifts its attention to LaLiga, where, in the next round, they will receive the visit of Levante, in what will be the first match as coach of the team at the “Bernabeu” for Alvaro Arbeloa.