Taty Castellanos Hits Four Against Real Madrid; Real Sociedad Hold Off Betis

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. 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. Fourth-place Real Sociedad earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Real Betis to frustrate the Andalusians, fifth, ensuring a six-point gap remains between them.

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