Last 16: Albacete 3-2 Real Madrid
Stoppage-time winner secures huge upset
For 20 minutes of Álvaro Arbeloa’s debut as manager of Real Madrid, the fog came down and no one could see any football. For the other 70, they couldn’t either. Not from his team, at least. From Albacete Balompié, 17th in the second division, they witnessed something magical. An outrageous goal scored with single second to go was the perfect end to the greatest story they ever told, history made. When the final whistle went, Madrid headed straight down the tunnel, defeated again, while the party began in the Carlos Belmonte.
Arbeloa had said he wanted to see Vinícius Júnior dance; instead, it was Albacete’s fans who would, long into the night of their lives. This could not have been any better; at Madrid, things can always get worse, the crisis deepening. Careful what you wish for and all that. “At this club every defeat is a tragedy, so imagine one like this,” Arbeloa said. “Failure is the road to success,” Madrid’s new manager added, insisting he was not afraid, that he had suffered eliminations even worse, but this had hurt.
“It will make us better. I am not afraid of failure. I have failed lots of times in my life, with knockouts more painful than this. I saw players who wanted to win, I can’t reproach them.” That there were 10 first team players left back in the capital did not take anything from Albacete, nor make any it easier for Madrid to digest. Besides, the home side too had habitual subs playing.
