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New Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa took responsibility for the team’s “painful” 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to second-tier Albacete on Wednesday, defending his decision to rest a number of senior players.
A 94th-minute winner from Jefte Betancor gave Albacete — currently 17th in the second division — their first win over Madrid, after Gonzalo García looked to have forced extra time at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte with a 91st minute header.
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Arbeloa took charge of Madrid on Tuesday, stepping up from coaching the reserve team after the departure of Xabi Alonso.
“At this club a draw is bad, a tragedy, so imagine a defeat like this,” Arbeloa said in his postmatch news conference. “It’s painful, especially against a lower division team. … Obviously we have to improve.
“I’m responsible, I take the decisions: the team, how we want to play, the substitutions. We’ll try to recover our morale and physically, and improve for the game on Saturday [against Levante in LaLiga].”
Madrid’s Copa exit came only three days after they were beaten by Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a result that preceded Alonso’s removal as coach.
Arbeloa left several key players out of the squad for the trip to Albacete, including Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Álvaro Carreras, Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappé, who has been struggling because of a knee sprain.
“I was convinced the squad was the right one, and I still think that,” Arbeloa said. “We have an extraordinary squad, with great players. It isn’t easy for them to do everything I’ve asked of them after just one day [in the job]. We have a lot of players to get back to their best physical level.
“I don’t regret anything. I’d pick the same team again.”
Madrid had previously progressed only to the round of 16 of the Copa, needing an Mbappé brace to beat third-tier Talavera de la Reina 3-2 in December.
“I think we’ve hit rock bottom today,” defender Dani Carvajal told reporters. “We’ve been knocked out by a second-division team. Congratulations to them. From tomorrow we’ll all do some self-criticism, individually and collectively. There’s still time to turn the season around.”
Said Arbeloa: “If people want to describe this as a failure I’d understand it. For me, failure lies on the way to success. … I don’t fear that word. I’ve failed a lot in my life, I’ve suffered defeats in cups, I’m excited about getting to Valdebebas tomorrow and working with the players, to [play] much better on Saturday.”
The new coach cited the need for his squad to improve physically, and refused to view the cup elimination as a positive in terms of reducing the workload going forward.
“Losing is never a relief at Real Madrid,” Arbeloa said. “Obviously it can have some positive consequences, but it wasn’t our objective to lose today. Physically we have a big margin to improve, that’s what [fitness coach] Antonio [Pintus] is here for, I think we need that.”
Emotional scenes at the final whistle saw Albacete’s players perform a lap of honor, while former Madrid defender Jesus Vallejo — who sat out Wednesday’s game because of injury — left the field in tears.
“It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever experienced in football,” matchwinner Betancor said. “It’s what you dream about.
“Nine years ago I wanted to leave football. Now, by dreaming, and working hard, look where we are. I think we deserved it.”
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