Mbappe nets hat-trick as Mourinho’s Madrid thrash Real Sociedad 4-1

Kylian Mbappe scored three goals as Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in their first home game of the LaLiga season.

Mbappe opened the scoring in the 40th minute, but Real Sociedad quickly responded through Luka Sucic, who equalised four minutes later.

The France international restored Real Madrid’s advantage in the 60th minute before Vinicius Junior extended the lead in the 68th minute.

Mbappe completed his hat-trick 10 minutes before the final whistle to seal a convincing victory for the hosts.

The result also marked a winning return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Jose Mourinho, more than 13 years after his previous home match as Real Madrid manager.

After a difficult first half, Mourinho’s side produced a much stronger performance after the break, turning their dominance into a comfortable victory.

Madrid ⁠were jeered before halftime after a sluggish opening in which they looked short of rhythm, careless in possession and vulnerable on the counter-attack.

Sociedad carried the sharper threat early on and almost went ahead in the 10th minute when Take Kubo intercepted a loose pass near the edge of the box and slipped in Mikel Oyarzabal, whose close-range effort was kept out by Thibaut Courtois.

The visitors went close again in the 34th minute, Sergio Gomez flashing a fine volley just wide of the far post, as the Bernabeu crowd began to voice its frustration.

Mbappe briefly changed the mood five minutes before halftime with a flash of class. Federico Valverde collected the ball ‌just beyond ⁠midfield and split the defence with a superb pass, allowing Mbappe to surge into the box, cut left and lash a shot into the top corer.

But Real’s defensive uncertainty returned four minutes later. Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras were all caught out after Job Ochieng latched on to a long ball, his deflected effort falling to Luka Sucic on ⁠the right, who had time to steady himself and drill a low shot past Courtois.

Mourinho sent on Marc Cucurella at halftime and Madrid emerged transformed, with Vinicius Jr and Mbappe stretching the visitors with direct running and greater intensity.

The hosts regained ⁠the lead on the hour when Mbappe and Jude Bellingham exchanged a sharp one-two, leaving the France forward free inside the box to beat Alex Remiro with a low finish.

Eight minutes later, Bellingham’s pressing won the ⁠ball back near the byline and his low cross gave Vinicius the simplest of tap-ins from close range.

Mbappe completed the win in the 80th minute after Vinicius slipped a clever pass behind the defence, the forward lifting a composed chip over Remiro to seal his hat-trick.

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