The stage was set for an epic final and that is exactly what was delivered on Wednesday night in Valencia. The clásico for a third time, even with Barcelona’s domination of late, was a welcome surprised to Spanish football fans. Oh yeah, let’s factor in the fact that these two sides will compete for a spot in the Champions League final next week. ‘The Special One,’ who has won at least one cup with every club he has been with since 2003, was leading Los Blancos towards their first trophy in a few years, while Pep Guardiola’s side was poised to continue their domestic domination. The performance the two sides produced was worthy of all the hype and anticipation, and when the evening was over, it was Madrid as campeón and the party ensued at Cibeles.

Parlaying his birthday celebrations into another stellar night on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo commemorated his 26th with another brace at the Bernabeu. After an inconceivable four game stretch without his name on the score sheet, the Madeiran-born star was the protagonist yet again as Los Blancos maintained their pace behind leaders Barcelona. Seven points adrift of the top, Jose Mourinho’s side are facing an increasingly steep uphill battle against a seemingly invincible side that hasn’t dropped points in the league since October. The same indomitable Catalunian club that Madrid will face in the Copa del Rey final in only a few months time. With Champions League football restarting in a fortnight, it should certainly be an interesting final few months in the Spanish capital (and let’s not forget about the Jose Mourinho created drama, which only adds to the intrigue of Los Merengues' season).

On either side of a gritty derbi madrileño, Real Madrid dropped two very crucial points in their title chase with Barcelona. The second half of the season has just begun, yet with Barcelona’s form, who knows how many points will be too steep a precipice to climb. Thursday night, however, the news was positive in the capital city as Los Blancos defeated their cross-town rivals for a third time already this year, earning a place in the semifinals of La Copa del Rey. A two-leg tie with Sevilla is the only thing that stands between Mourninho’s side and a possible cup final match up with the infamous Barcelona.

When Real Madrid fell on away goals at the hands of third division minnows Real Union in October of 2008, it was perceived as the upset of the century. The Basque side, who, before that season, hadn’t been in the second division since 1965 and the top flight since before the Spanish Civil war. This was an upset the likes of which would never be seen again in many supporters’ lifetimes. The following summer, and as a result of impotency in Europe and the domestic league not the Copa, the Madrid brass spent hundred of millions of Euros on reassembling the Galacticos. Real Madrid would once again face a third division opponent, minuscule Alcorcon. Located in the Communidad de Madrid, just outside the bustling capital metropolis, Alcorcon would humiliate (and that is putting it nicely) their rivals in the first leg, outlasting Los Blancos in the return to make it two third division sides in two consecutive years.

Coming into Tuesday night’s Copa del Rey tie against third division Murcia, Real Madrid’s form had been phenomenal. Since their uninspired goalless draw at newly promoted Levante on September 25th, Los Blancos had won five of five, including two Champions League matches. Outscoring opponents 19-3 over that span, Jose Mourinho’s side had seemingly found their form and were set to start bringing the trophies to the Bernabeu. That was until they were held goalless, again, by a stubborn Murcia side in their fourth round cup fixture. As the season presses forward, supporters in the Spanish capital are beginning to wonder which Madrid side will take the pitch on a given night.

The seventeen time Copa del Rey Champions have exited the competition at the hands of a third division club in each of the past two seasons. Couple that with Madrid’s lavish spending and those results become even more embarrassing, sparking their Portuguese boss to threaten his side before the tie. Unsure which, if any, players are “dead to him” after Tuesday lackluster draw; the Spanish giants will look to advance to the round of sixteen, for the first time since 2007-2008, in the return leg on November 10.

UD Alcorcon saw off Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey Tuesday night, defeating the seventeen time champions 4-1 on aggregate. For the second consecutive year Real were eliminated from the Copa del Rey at the hands of a third division team. Alcorcon pulled off a surprising victory two weeks ago, shocking Los Blancos 4-0 in the first leg of the competition.

On tuesday, at the Bernabeu, Alcorcon were able to complete the upset by only conceding once in the return leg. One third of the triple is now unattainable; however, with a league visit to Barcelona and the final two fixtures of the Champions League group stage within a month, Madrid have the opportunity to move forward and put this embarrassment behind them.

To say Real Madrid’s cup tie loss was an embarrassment is understating the sentiments felt throughout the Spanish capital. David emphatically slew Goliath, reinforcing the numerous concerns surrounding a club considered a contender for both La Liga and the Champions League.

The role of David was played by AD Alcorcon, a third division club (Segunda B) located 13 km southwest of Madrid, whose victory has put Real Madrid’s backs up against the wall in the Copa del Rey competition while casting a great deal of doubt on the future of Real’s season.