Real Madrid’s trip to Girona should have been an opportunity for Carlo Ancelotti’s side to pick up another three points in LaLiga, as Los Blancos look to close the gap to Barcelona. The Blaugrana seem destined to win the league title, though closing the gap remains a priority for the white half of the capital.
GIR: Gazzaniga; Gutierrez, Juanpe, Bueno, Martinez; Romeu; Riquelme, Martin, Tsygankov, Couto; Castellanos
RMA: Lunin; Nacho, Rudiger, Militao, Carvajal; Modric, Kroos, Valverde; Vini Jr, Rodrygo, Asensio
A relatively strong start by the away side quickly meant nothing as Ivan Martin’s drive into the box saw the midfielder cut it back to Arnau Martinez who put in a delightful cross for Castellanos to head it home to make it 1-0 in the 12th minute.
It took Girona just 12 minutes to double their lead with Castellanos again the man for the home side, as Martinez’s punt up the field found the forward who held his cool to make it 2-0.
Girona’s early blitz came in the context of Madrid dominating the ball, and Ancelotti’s men did find their breakthrough just 10 minutes later with a Vinicius Junior finish from a Marco Asensio ball in the 34th minute.
The second half saw Girona stun Madrid once again as Castellanos got his hattrick after Yan Couto dribbled past Nacho Fernandez, teeing up the striker who finished with a deadly first-time shot into the bottom corner.
Girona’s fourth dagger came in the 62nd minute, as Castellanos remarkably scored his fourth goal of the night after a deflected cross set up the striker – beating Eder Militao to make it 4-1.
Madrid did get a consolation to tame the party mood inside the Estadi Montilivi, as Vinicius’ driving run saw the Brazilian take the ball all the way to the byline before cutting it back to Lucas Vasquez as the substitute made it 4-2 in the 85th minute.
The final whistle drew a conclusion to a horror result for Ancelotti and his men as they failed to close the gap to Barcelona, with the current champions now sitting 11 points behind with just seven games to go.
Xavi Hernandez’s men can go 14 points clear tomorrow with a win over Rayo Vallecano and end any hope of Madrid retaining their title. The European champions will need to quickly regroup though, as just three games remain between now and their crunch semi-final tie with Manchester City in two weeks’ time.
The Champions League provides an opportunity to salvage something from this season after what has been a woeful defence of their La Liga crown. Real Madrid take on Almeria next at the Santiago Bernabeu on the 29th of April.
