Real Madrid crash out of Copa del Rey at lowly Albacete on Arbeloa debut

Al JazeeraCenterEN 3 min read 100% complete January 15, 2026 at 12:56 AM

AI Summary

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In his debut as Real Madrid coach, Alvaro Arbeloa oversaw a shocking 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to second-division Albacete on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Arbeloa was appointed on Monday to replace Xabi Alonso after Real Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final. Despite a late equalizer, Albacete secured a stoppage-time winner at the Carlos Belmonte stadium. Arbeloa rested key players like Mbappe and Courtois, opting to field two reserve team players. Arbeloa took full responsibility for the loss, citing his lineup decisions as the reason for the defeat.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Javi Villar 35% Gonzalo Garcia 35% Franco Mastantuono 35% Barcelona 40% Carlos Belmonte stadium 40% Kylian Mbappe ×240% Jefte Betancor 50% Xabi Alonso ×260% Albacete ×270% Copa del Rey ×280% Alvaro Arbeloa ×585% Real Madrid ×590%

Keywords

real madrid 100% copa del rey 100% defeat 90% albacete 90% arbeloa debut 80% xabi alonso sacking 70% lower league 60% football 50% spanish super cup 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Carlos Belmonte stadium

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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real madrid copa del rey defeat albacete arbeloa debut xabi alonso sacking lower league football spanish super cup

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