The Copa del Rey Round of 16 competition continued on Wednesday night with the shock of the tournament, as Albacete knocked out Real Madrid in last year’s final.
Albacete 3-2 Real Madrid: The shock of the tournament
The title was none other than Albacete, who threw Real Madrid at Carlos Belmonte, and Jefte scored the second of his almost last egg of the game to win it. Real Madrid have left Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham in Madrid, but Albacete are also heavily surrounded, with eight regulars missing from the starting XI. They took the lead just before the break through Javi Villar’s corner.
📺 CONTINUE AGAIN #CopaDelReyMapfre
🆚 @AlbaceteBPSAD | 3-2 | @real Madrid
⚽️ 1-0 Javi Villar (42′)
⚽️ 1-1 Mastantuono (45 + 3′)
⚽️ 2-1 Jefté (82′)
⚽️ 2-2 Gonzalo (90 + 1′)
⚽️ 3-2 Jefté (90 + 4′)#LaCopaMola | Octavos de finale pic.twitter.com/8a88Hd58B7– RFEF (@rfef) January 14, 2026
Franco Mastantuono also scored a set-piece to keep the teams level at the break. It was another set of Gonzalo Garcia equalizers in stoppage time to match Jefte’s first, before the eventual winner. Surprisingly, manager Alberto Gonzalez had predicted their victory in the dressing room earlier.
El @AlbaceteBPSAD estará en los cuartos de final de la Copa del Rey haciendo 𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔.
¡¡Normal la emoción del Carlos Belmonte!!
📺 @La1_tve #CopaDelReyMapfre | #LaCopaMola🏆 pic.twitter.com/9NmD2ZmycN
– RFEF (@rfef) January 14, 2026
Real Betis 2-1 Elche: Chimy Avila inspires comeback
Elche came to Benito Villamarin as a possible shocker, and had the better of the chances in the first half. It was Theo Petrot who pounced on a loose ball in the box to give Eder Sarabia’s side the lead just before the hour mark. Elche struggled to keep the game at bay in the second half despite taking the lead, and Chimy Avila grabbed an equalizer 10 minutes later, firing into the net after Pablo Fornals was cut down.
📺 CONTINUE AGAIN #CopaDelReyMapfre
🆚 @AlbaceteBPSAD | 3-2 | @real Madrid
⚽️ 1-0 Javi Villar (42′)
⚽️ 1-1 Mastantuono (45 + 3′)
⚽️ 2-1 Jefté (82′)
⚽️ 2-2 Gonzalo (90 + 1′)
⚽️ 3-2 Jefté (90 + 4′)#LaCopaMola | Octavos de finale pic.twitter.com/8a88Hd58B7– RFEF (@rfef) January 14, 2026
Avila, who has been heavily linked with an exit, also fired home the winner, this time an effort from close range with Aitor Ruibal providing the assist. The winner came amid massive protests from Elche against construction.
Alaves 2-0 Rayo Vallecano: Three Basque teams in the quarter-finals
Both teams turned away at Mendizorrotza, with Alaves hoping to end a run of three defeats out of four, with Rayo coming off a first win in eight La Liga games. The second half had not yet begun when Toni Martinez scored in the first game of a bad streak going forward. El Glorioso was given a helping hand when Isi Palazon saw red with 20 minutes remaining for a high challenge.
📺 CONTINUE AGAIN #CopaDelReyMapfre
🆚 @Alaves | 2-0 | @RayoVallecano
⚽️ Toni Martínez (49′)
⚽️ Carlos Vicente (89′)#LaCopaMola | Octavos de finale pic.twitter.com/V1lAQcNlbv– RFEF (@rfef) January 14, 2026
With one minute left, Carlos Vicente got on the score sheet. Dani Cardenas was out to intercept the ball from behind, but Vicente made a first-time clearance and rolled it into the net. After the most painful victories over Athletic Club and Real Sociedad, Alaves made it three of the eight teams in the quarter-finals.
