Girona striker Taty Castellanos hit an incredible four goals as his side thrashed champions Real Madrid 4-2 in La Liga on Tuesday, helping leaders Barcelona edge closer to the trophy, reports AFP.
Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid are 11 points behind Barcelona having played one extra match, with this defeat virtually killing any hope they had remaining of defending the title.
Girona's Castellanos was left in tears after missing a big chance against Barcelona earlier in April in a goalless draw, but made amends in spectacular fashion at Montilivi against Madrid.
The Argentine striker, on loan at Girona from New York City FC -- owned by the City group -- exposed gaps in Madrid's defence ahead of their Champions League semi-final tie against Manchester City in May.
Castellanos shut down his social media accounts after his bad night in front of goal at Camp Nou, but thanked those close to him for their support.
"It was a dream night, we had a great game against one of the best teams in the world, it was a dream night," Castellanos said.
"I never imagined this, (I'm) enjoying it with our fans, with the people who have sent me support -- my family, people in Argentina, they are always supporting me and that's fundamental."
In April 2022 Castellanos hit four goals for New York City against Real Salt Lake and repeated the trick a little over a year later.
"Obviously they are different days, it was a dream to score against Madrid and to score four -- you can't even imagine it," he added.
"I'm very happy for everything, for the fans, for the lads."
Castellanos now has 11 goals in La Liga this season in 29 appearances.
Ancelotti had said his team needed to stay in a positive winning dynamic in the league to stay at the top of their game in Europe, but badly took their eye off the ball in Girona.
"A tough night, yes, when you lose a game like that it's a tough night," said the Italian.
"On a defensive level it was a bad game, and that was the key to the match... the individual level was lower than normal too.
"Everybody's was, not just some people. The level was very low, because the defensive aspect, which was very good in recent games, today, we have forgotten."
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
