Taty Castellanos was just inches away from glory.
The Girona FC striker was one-on-one with FC Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, and after sprinting into the penalty box he eased off the throttle to better pick out his shot. Taty took two more steps, squared his hips — and sent the ball wide.
It was the best chance Girona created in their game against Barcelona last night, and if the ball had found the back of the net it could have set up the club to grab a legendary result in front of more than 80,000 Barca fans. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if Castellanos passed the ball to teammate Viktor Tsigankov, who was open on his right, Girona could have scored on a tap-in. Then again, who doesn’t dream about belting home the game-winner at Camp Nou? Even though Barcelona were been the better team, a determined Girona defense held them scoreless, and a single goal could have delivered an upset.
By any standard, mid-table Girona should be thrilled they played out a 0-0 draw against Barcelona and got a point at Camp Nou. But Castellanostook his miss hard, and the former New York City FC striker reportedlyleft the game in tears. He was inconsolable in the dressing room after the game.
Later that night, Castellanos silenced his social media accounts and disappeared from both Instagram and Twitter. (He has since returned to Instagram.) Journalist Álex Luna reported in Mundo Deportivo that there were so many negative comments on the striker’s accounts that “he didn’t hesitate to walk away.”
According to FotMob, Castellanos had an xG of .45 — the same as Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski.
Girona next play last-place Elche CF on Sunday, April 16, at 8 am ET.
