Real Madrid destroyed by MLS-loan striker in shock Girona loss

Real Madrid destroyed by MLS-loan striker in shock Girona loss

Ayoola Kelechi 20:41 - 25.04.2023

Real Madrid were hammered by Girona in LaLiga after conceding four goals to Valentin Castellanos who is still on the books of MLS club New York City FC

Catalan club Girona did their city neighbours Barcelona a favour with a sensational 4-2 win over an injury-hit Real Madrid side in LaLiga. 

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The shock win over Real Madrid came in the absence of first-team regulars like Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois, and David Alaba, but it would have been just as sweet for Girona. The Catalan side were propelled to a famous win over Los Blancos by Argentine forward Valentin Castellanos who is currently on loan to the LaLiga team from New York City FC. 

Castellanos scored an incredible four goals against Real Madrid to take his tally for the season to 11 goals as Los Blancos’ defence and back-up goalkeeper Andriy Lunin simply failed to find an answer to him. 

How it happened

Castellanos opened the scoring for Girona as early as the 12th minute to send Girona fans into raptures and then doubled their lead before the half-hour mark with his second goal of the night. 

Vinicius Junior managed to pull one back for Real Madrid close to halftime as Los Blancos tried to initiate a comeback before the second half. 

However, Castellanos was able to dispel any thoughts of a fightback for the reigning LaLiga Champions, as he grabbed his hat-trick less than five minutes after the restart to make it 3-1 to Girona. 

Real Madrid did most of the running and playing, as they had 71% possession of the ball throughout the game, but Girona did the most important thing in a football match: putting the ball in the back of the net more times than the opponent. 

Castellanos hit an incredible fourth goal to all but end the game as a contest, with a sublime header from a corner kick to make it 4-1 to Girona. 

With the game essentially over as a contest, Girona relaxed their intensity upfront, taking off four-goal hero Castellanos and Real Madrid managed to find another consolation goal through Victor Vazquez late in the game. 

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The loss against Girona means that Barcelona could now open a 14-point gap at the top of the table just days after Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti said he felt the 11-point gap between the teams was not a true picture of their effort in LaLiga this season.