Three Major Shocking Upsets in Football This Week: Two Defending Champions and Real Madrid All Stunned

Within just a week, football has seen three massive upsets, featuring two reigning champions and the globally renowned Real Madrid, with the shock factor as intense as a fridge on quick-freeze setting.

On Saturday evening (January 10) at 20:15 Beijing time, during the FA Cup third round (where Premier League teams start competing), the defending champions were eliminated in their first match as Crystal Palace lost 1-2 to sixth-tier team Micklefield. A Premier League side losing to an amateur club is as shocking as a high school team being defeated by a kindergarten affiliate.

In the early hours of Tuesday (January 13) at 01:10 Beijing time, during the French Cup round of 32, six-time champions and defending French Cup winners PSG were beaten 0-1 at home by newly promoted Ligue 1 team Paris FC, missing out on the last 16. The starting lineups’ combined market values were €610 million vs. €45.4 million, making this a classic upset. However, PSG fans are somewhat used to such shocks, as the club often suffers surprising defeats each season. Given PSG’s dominance in Ligue 1, any loss to a weaker team tends to cause an even bigger stir!

At 4 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday (January 15), in the Copa del Rey round of 16, Real Madrid was defeated 2-3 by Albacete, a team ranked seventeenth in the Segunda División, missing out on the quarterfinals. Albacete, just one point above the relegation zone, originally planned major rotation but fielded only three starters with a total market value of €4.7 million, while Real Madrid’s starting lineup was worth €558 million—about 118 times more expensive. Despite this huge gap, Real Madrid suffered a shocking defeat and exit. It seems Alonso was unfairly blamed, and the new coach Aveloya has had a rough start, which doesn’t bode well for leading the team in the future!