Real Madrid suffered a debacle last night, as they were sensationally eliminated by Albacete (3:2) in the round of 16 of the Spanish King's Cup.
It was Alvaro Arbeola's first game in charge of Madrid after parting ways with Xabi Alonso. And that's just one of the reasons why this game and historic defeat resonated in the Spanish media. Real Madrid lost two trophies in a few days, changed their coach, and haven't been in this situation for a long time.
Leading Spanish newspaper "Marca" headlined its report on the match with: "This Real (Madrid) is truly shameful." Another article, in its commentary on the match, concludes that Real's players will be booed on Saturday, when they play Levante at home in the Spanish league.
"The worst thing that could have happened to Real Madrid was that after the first 20 minutes of the match, the fog lifted from the Carlos Belmonte stadium. This exposed the shameful play that had knocked them out of the King's Cup. The crisis at Real Madrid took on extraordinary proportions, with two trophies lost in three days, one coach sacked, and another leaving work mortally wounded," according to "Marka".
It is pointed out that Arbeloa took a risk, resting four key players and losing a trophy. And to think that this team can win La Liga or the Champions League is wishful thinking, according to the Spanish newspaper.
"The reality is that the players, not all of them, but the vast majority, were not thrilled with the new coach either. They didn't expect a miracle from switching from Xabi to Arbeloa overnight, but they at least hoped for a change in the players' attitude. None of that. The only change was in the coach's behavior."
Arbeloa surprised everyone with his performance at the press conference, he was overly indulgent towards the players, whom he even thanked.
Real Madrid was completely ineffective throughout the game, led by Vinicius, who did not stand out.
"He played as if Xabi Alonso was still on the bench. Valverde didn't offer anything either. And Mastantuono, whose only bright spot was a goal, barely raised his rating. From 0 to 1, and very generously. His game was incredibly bad. They return to the 'Bernabeu' on Saturday. They have a tough time ahead of them," it states.
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