Shocker! Madrid Fall 2-4 To La Liga Upstarts, Girona
- As MLS loanee, Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos hits four goals
- Striker Vinicius Junior bags yellow, taunts La Liga again
- Girona player escapes punishment for kicking ball at him
On a night that New York City FC loanee, Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos brought Real Madrid defenders, Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao brought to their knees by his four-goal heroics, Los Blancos’ fleet-footed Vinicius Junior caught a frustrated figure on the pitch.
Unhappy, the Brazilian international made another social media post critical of La Liga after Madrid were comprehensively beaten 4-2 defeat at Girona on Tuesday.
The winger was angry over an incident in the 36th minute, when Girona defender Santiago Bueno aggressively kicked the ball off him while he was on the ground near the sideline.
He felt it was a purposeful, unsportsmanlike act, and his subsequent dissent led to a yellow card, with Bueno unpunished.
After the game, Vinicius Junior quote-tweeted a comment about the sequence, writing: “😅 Laliga 😅”
The moment brought to mind the 2022 World Cup scrap between Argentina and the Netherlands when Leandro Paredes booted the ball at the Dutch bench to provoke a melee, however this incident differed in that it happened entirely within the field of play.
Vinicius has been an outspoken critic of La Liga throughout the past two seasons for what he sees as a lack of protection from racial abuse from opposing fans and aggressive fouls from rival players.
The winger was Real Madrid’s top performer in an otherwise dismal defeat on Tuesday. He’ll need to be at his best again on Saturday against Almeria.
However, Tuesday night belonged wholly to the Major League Soccer (MLS) loanee, Castellanos who scored all four goals as hosts, Girona battered a miserable Real Madrid side.
He ran reigning champions ragged to give La Liga newcomers a deserving 4-2 victory. Castellanos bagged his first early, finishing a well-constructed counter-attack with a neat header. The striker doubled his side’s advantage shortly after, nutmegging backup goalkeeper Andriy Lunin under pressure from two Madrid defenders.
Vinicius Junior pulled one back before half time, but Madrid were helpless otherwise. Castellanos bagged two more in the second half, leaving Madrid shell-shocked.
It was the first time Los Blancos have conceded four goals to a player this century. Not a good look for centre-back pairing Eder Militao and Antonio Rudiger, but certainly a historic day for MLS fans watching back in the United States.
Castellanos, who described Tuesday as his “dream night”, was subbed with 20 minutes remaining. But the hosts were comfortable from there, despite a late goal from Madrid’s Lucas Vasquez.
La Liga may be gone for the Santiago Bernabéu Landlords, but performances matter. And this one was indeed a shocker. – With Goal.com reports
