It’s been a day the small mountain town in northern Catalonia will never forget. Girona FC welcomed the mighty Real Madrid to its humble home, the Estadi Montilivi, for a late-season duel. The newly promoted side has attracted attention after several entertaining performances this season, but none will stay as long in the minds and souls of fans as Tuesday's 4-1 battering of the World Champions.
On a pitch laced with superstars and hundred-million-euro men, former NYCFC forward Taty Castellanos stole the show with a historic performance that saw him became the first non-Spaniard to score four goals in a game against Real Madrid in LaLiga.
Taty Castellanos, on loan at Girona from NYCFC, scores against Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/LTyMxhfVSR
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) April 25, 2023
TATY CASTELLANOS HAS A FIRST-HALF BRACE AGAINST MADRID pic.twitter.com/tABdxykyGl
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 25, 2023
Taty’s goalscoring began early. After a dozen minutes, he grabbed his first. 12 minutes later he had doubled Girona’s advantage with a composed finish. Despite Vinícius Junior halving the lead after 34 minutes, Taty’s day was far from done.
CASTELLANOS HAS HIS HAT TRICK AGAINST MADRID pic.twitter.com/8nWhINKXoI
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 25, 2023
CASTELLANOS HAS SCORED FOUR GOALS AGAINST REAL MADRID pic.twitter.com/nk7IRHAlvs
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 25, 2023
Just 36 seconds into the second half, the 2021 MLS Golden Boot winner bagged his third and found his fourth only 16 minutes later for a night he and the city of Girona will never forget.
Underrated tweet since that’s the last team he dropped 4 on - April 17, 2022 https://t.co/3OeWWf00fo
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) April 25, 2023
After 72 glorious minutes, the Argentine forward left the pitch to a thoroughly deserved standing ovation. Chants of “Taty, Taty, Taty” roared from the crowd and supporters bowed to his otherworldly display. The 24-year-old was replaced by club legend Cristhian Stuani, but it was Castellanos who earned his place in the hearts of the Girona faithful.
- Castellanos walks off the pitch with a smile on his face, after scoring 4 goals against Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/hb32H60W2Z
— (@TheEuropeanLad) April 25, 2023
Real added a consolation goal through Lucas Vázquez but it wasn’t enough as the Catalans ran riot against the Spanish giants. At full-time, Taty ran onto the pitch to celebrate with his teammates, his smile untethered as the Himne del Girona rung out from the crowd that would put a sardine tin to shame.
13.306 espectadors i espectadores a Montilivi
Gràcies, afició! pic.twitter.com/bqavUyglJY— Girona FC (@GironaFC) April 25, 2023
With the win, Girona now moves up to eighth in LaLiga, and while European qualification remains highly unlikely for Míchel and his side, midtable obscurity would have been welcomed at the beginning of the season. A host of new signings including Castellanos, Reinier and Viktor Tsygankovhave took the squad to another level as they aimed to avoid relegation in the early days of the season. As the match weeks passed and the results came in, however, the Catalans earned the right to dream bigger.
Since securing promotion via the playoffs last season, Girona has outperformed the other two promoted sides in Real Valladolid CF and UD Almería as they’ve set the league alight. The Catalan side has scored 48 goals this season, good enough for the third most in LaLiga and one more than Atletico Madrid. Taty accounts for 11 of those goals and is the joint-eighth top scorer in the league alongside Antoine Griezmann.
Reminder than Taty Castellanos is still on loan from NYCFC. He is still an MLS player and he put 4 past Real Madrid who would baptize any of your favorite little European clubs
Make sure your praise is as loud as your disrespect pic.twitter.com/i55wZbINpr— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) April 25, 2023
Girona will be hoping to keep hold of their Argentine gem as he is on loan from NYCFC where he won an MLS Cup. As part of the club’s partnership with City Group, Castellanos left New York City to play in Europe and the Catalan outfit has welcomed him with open arms. They say not to fall in love with a loanee, but it might be too late for Girona fans, and deservedly so.
