Valentin Castlanos scored four goals in a single game against Real Madrid to help Girona win 4-2. The Argentinian was the first player in Spanish top-flight history to score four goals in a game against Los Blancos. The 24-year old striker, on loan from MLS club New York City FC, has been a key player for Girona during their successful season in the Spanish top flight.
The team’s leading scorer, he has 11 goals. The Argentine scored a La Liga hat trick against Los Blancos alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, among others. In the Spanish top division, he became the first player in the 21st Century to score four goals against them. Leo Messi, the Barca legend, was the last player in La Liga to score three or more goals in 2014 against Real Madrid.
Castellanos became the first Argentine to score four goals against Real Madrid in a match since 1947. Girona has climbed to ninth place in the table thanks to his efforts. This is an impressive position after their promotion last year. Real Madrid’s domestic ambitions have been dealt a major blow by the result. A comeback in La Liga is unlikely.
1. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi’s performance for Real Madrid has been nothing less than a nightmare. He is one of the greatest players in the history of football. The Argentine has a great record against Real Madrid, having scored 26 goals and 14 assists in 46 games. In 2014, his latest hat-trick came against Los Blancos in a thrilling seven-goal thriller played at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona won the match 4-3.
He played 17 seasons in Spain, where he won six Copa Del Rey and 10 La Liga titles. During his time at the Catalan giants, he won the UEFA Champions League four times. Messi is a prolific goal scorer and a creative playmaker. He holds records for the most goals scored in La Liga, the most hat-tricks achieved in La Liga as well as the UEFA Champions League, and the most assists earned in La Liga or the Copa America. Also, he has scored the most goals for South American men at international level.
Messi is the only player to have scored more than 800 senior goals in his career for both club and country. In the 2011-12 season, he had a season of his best when he scored 60 goals in 60 games for Barcelona. Leo set a new record in the calendar year with 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina combined across all competitions. This was a huge improvement on the 85 goals Gerd Müller scored for Bayern Munich and Germany.
2. Valentin Castellanos
Valentin Castellanos became the first player in this century to score four goals against Real Madrid. The 24-year old has scored 11 goals in La Liga so far this season. He is proving that he can score against the best in Europe, even though his parent club New York City FC is on loan to Girona. This summer, the impressive performance of the man who helped NYCFC win an MLS Cup could spark interest in a transfer.
In the season 2021-22, he scored 19 goals and won the MLS Golden Boot Award. In addition, he scored in every Playoff Cup game as the team won the MLS Cup. The current Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is the last player to score four against Los Blancos. The feat was achieved by the Polish forward while he played for Borussia Dortmund. In the first leg, he scored four goals as Dortmund defeated Real Madrid 4-1.
