By Fernando Kallas; Reuters.
Photo Credit: Real Madrid.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in their first home match of the LaLiga season.
Mbappe put Madrid ahead in the 40th minute before Luka Sucic levelled four minutes later, but the France forward restored the hosts’ lead on the hour and Vinicius Jr added a third in the 68th before Mbappe completed his treble 10 minutes from time.
It was also a winning return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Jose Mourinho, more than 13 years after his previous home match in charge of the club, as Real recovered from a disjointed first half with a ruthless display after the break.
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 corner.
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.