Mbappe hat-trick seals Madrid; thrashes Sociedad

Collected Photo

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick to ensure Jose Mourinho enjoyed a victorious return to the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad in La Liga.

The victory followed Mourinho’s successful start to his second stint in charge of Real Madrid over the weekend, where his side secured a 2-1 win at Espanyol.

Supporters packed out the Bernabeu on Wednesday night to welcome back the manager who guided the club to three domestic titles over a decade ago, winning 128 of his 178 matches during his initial tenure.

Real Sociedad initially aimed to disrupt the occasion, presenting a stubborn test for the hosts. However, Real Madrid broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time. Mbappe controlled the ball with a brilliant first touch inside the box to evade a defender before driving his shot into the net.

Real Sociedad responded four minutes later when a deflected attempt fell to Luka Sucic, who finished past the goalkeeper to equalize.

Real Madrid turned the match in their favor midway through the second half, heavily aided by two key plays from Jude Bellingham. Bellingham first completed a neat one-two with Mbappe, enabling the forward to place his finish beyond the goalkeeper. Shortly after, Bellingham fought for possession inside the penalty box to set up Vinicius Jr for a simple tap-in.

Mbappe completed his hat-trick late in the game, running onto a pass into the box from Vinicius Jr before chipping the ball into the net to secure the win.

Speaking after the match, Mourinho praised Mbappe’s performance and work ethic.

“He’s a historical player, his World Cup record will remain forever,” Mourinho said. “He’s very hungry to make history at Real Madrid too. He isn’t just a goalscorer, he doesn’t wait for the whole team to create and then just score.”

Mourinho added: “He’s very involved in the game. When you coach elite players like this, you don’t need to coach them as individuals. You need to coach the team as a whole.”