Author – Amrit Santlani
Matchday 31 of La Liga kicked off on Tuesday night, with Real Madrid traveling to Girona to try and reduce Barcelona’s lead. However, they suffered a shocking 4 – 2 defeat after Valentin Castellanos scored all four goals. Meanwhile, Osasuna beat Cadiz 1-0, courtesy of Ruben Garcia’s goal. In the final match on Tuesday, Real Betis and Real Sociedad drew 0-0.
Valentin Castellanos scores four against Real Madrid to add to Carlo Ancelotti’s problems
Valentin Castellanos was the chief architect of Girona’s remarkable victory, with the on-loan MLS striker opening the scoring against the run of play to beat Andriy Lunin in the 12th minute. It was a game full of drama, as Vinicius Junior was cautioned after taking the stick from Girona’s defenders. A mistake by Eder Militao allowed Castellanos to hit the net and score again to double Girona’s lead. Vinicius scored with a header from close range in his attempt to resurrect Real Madrid, but just after the break, Castellanos completed his hat-trick. Shortly after the hour mark, he scored the fourth goal to end the game and seal the three points for his team, before Marco Asensio scored to make the scoreline less humiliating.
Real Betis draw 0-0 with Real Sociedad
Alexander Sorloth had a glorious chance to open the scoring early on after Real Betis failed to clear their lines. An interesting first half came to an end, with neither team able to create any clear-cut chances. Ayoze Perez took advantage of Juan Miranda’s cut-back, but the Spanish striker’s shot flew over the crossbar after the restart. Sergio Canales also failed to get his shot on target after another Miranda cut-back, but Betis’ woeful finishing kept them at bay. Carlos Fernandez was denied by some clever defending from Rui Silva, as the two sides couldn’t be separated at full-time.