Overview
- Albacete beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the round of 16, with Jefté Betancor scoring twice, including the winner in the 90+4 minute at Carlos Belmonte.
- Álvaro Arbeloa’s first match as Madrid coach came two days after Xabi Alonso’s departure and ended in elimination from the cup.
- Madrid started a heavily rotated XI that omitted Thibaut Courtois, Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham; the goals came from Javi Villar, Franco Mastantuono, Gonzalo García and Betancor’s late decider.
- Deportivo Alavés advanced by defeating Rayo Vallecano 2-0, with Toni Martínez opening the scoring and gesturing to hush critics before Carlos Vicente added the second.
- Barcelona visits Racing de Santander on Thursday in the round of 16, with kickoff set for 21:00 local time at El Sardinero.