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A new era at Real Madrid got off to a false start as Álvaro Arbeloa’s severely weakened squad crashed to a 3-2 defeat to Segunda side Albacete in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night. Albacete took the lead with an Iván Villar header, shortly before Franco Mastantuono equalised on the stroke of half-time. Olympiacos…

Player Ratings: Albacete 3–2 Real Madrid Andriy Lunin — 3Conceded three goals and should have done better on two of them. A rough night overall. David Jiménez — 4Showed promise going forward but struggled badly defensively. Raúl Asencio — 5A quiet performance. Was not heavily involved and can’t be blamed for the goals conceded. Dean…

AUDIO: View Link VIDEO: On this episode of the Managing Madrid Podcast, Kiyan Sobhani, Mehedi Hassan, Sam Sharpe, and Hridyam Arora discuss: Raw emotional reaction to a rock-bottom night The disappointing demeanour of the veterans Get ready for a deafening experience at the Bernabeu Alvaro Arbeloa’s post-game quotes, starting XI, and overall tall task Vinicius…

Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the Mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Ezek XI, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho. NEGATIVE FOOTBALL Our players have been…

Real Madrid’s new coach Álvaro Arbeloa spoke after his first game in charge ended in defeat to Albacete and Copa del Rey elimination after a dramatic 3-2 loss. Reflecting, he said, “I’m not afraid of failure. I understand those who want to describe this defeat as such. Failure forms part of the path to success….

Real Madrid were dealt another shocking blow this evening in the Copa del Rey, exiting after a dramatic late 3-2 defeat to Albacete, conceding a last-minute winner that sent shivers through the spones of every Madridista. Despite controlling large spells and twice finding the net, Real Madrid were punished for late defensive lapses as Albacete…

Real Madrid have published their starting lineup for the upcoming match against Albacete in the Copa del Rey. Real Madrid starting XI: Lunin; David Jiménez, Asencio, Huijsen, Fran García; Cestero, Güler, Valverde; Mastantuono, Vinicius and Gonzalo. Albacete starting XI (TBC): Lizoain; Aguado, Moreno, Vallejo, Neva, JoGo; Escriche, Villar, Capi, Valverde; Jefté. As expected, Real Madrid…

In his opening press conference, Real Madrid’s new coach was clear: “I will be Álvaro Arbeloa, I won’t be scared of failure, but if I wanted to be Jose Mourinho then I would fail spectacularly”. But who is Álvaro Arbeloa? Most Madridistas remember his as a strong squad player, a back-up who offered versatility and…

Real Madrid visit Albacete in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, yet another single-elimination game. This will be Arbeloa’s debut as Real Madrid’s coach after Xabi Alonso’s departure, so the fans will be paying close attention to see if the team shows some encouraging signs on the field. PREDICTED LINEUPS Real Madrid…

There’s no questions that Xabi Alonso was very high on Gonzalo Garcia. Alonso started the young Spanish forward in every Club World Cup match in the summer, and during Kylian Mbappe’s recent injury, Alonso started Gonzalo in all three matches, getting four goals out of him in the process. But Alonso also (in 95% of…