"It's my fault!"

Real Madrid in shock after huge embarrassment

Frustration for superstar Vinicius Junior (left) and new coach Alvaro Arbeloa(Bild: AP/Jose Breton)

There is utter disbelief at Real Madrid! Two days after coach Xabi Alonso was sacked, the "Royals" suffered an embarrassing 2-3 defeat at second division side Albacete in the Spanish Cup round of 16 on Wednesday. "I am to blame," said new coach Alvaro Arbeloa, defending his players.

Alvaro Arbeloa's coaching debut at Real Madrid went badly wrong with the huge embarrassment against Albacete. "That hurts! If there is someone to blame, someone responsible for this defeat, then it's me. I made the decisions regarding the line-up, the match plan and the substitutions," said the 42-year-old Spaniard, who was deeply disappointed.

Alvaro Arbeloa(Bild: AP/Jose Breton)

This means that the "Royals" have lost their chance of winning the title early on. ÖFB star David Alaba was substituted in the 65th minute with the score at 1-1. Jefte scored twice (82nd, 94th) to become the match winner for Albacete. After Sunday's 3-2 defeat to FC Barcelona in the Super Cup final in Jeddah, this was another bitter setback for Real.

Rock bottom
"Today we hit rock bottom. We were knocked out of the cup by a second division team. Congratulations to them," said veteran defender Dani Carvajal, stunned. "We are obviously not in our best phase. We all have to work hard now, give much more. That's the reality. And we ask our fans for forgiveness!"

Today we hit rock bottom. A second division team knocked us out of the cup.

Thanks to players despite cup disaster
 Despitethecup disaster, Arbeloa thanked his players "for how they welcomed me and for the effort they put in today. Now we have to recover both mentally and physically and look ahead to Saturday." Then the league clash with Levante awaits (2 p.m./live on sportkrone.at ticker).