Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Bernabéu on Wednesday in their first home match since the return of José Mourinho as head coach. Mbappé 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. Vinícius Júnior added a third in the 68th minute before Mbappé completed his treble 10 minutes from time.
It was a winning return to the Bernabéu for Mourinho, more than 13 years after his previous home match in charge of the club, as Madrid recovered from a disjointed first half with a ruthless display after the break. Madrid were jeered before half-time after a sluggish opening in which they looked short of rhythm, careless in possession and vulnerable on the counterattack. The visitors went close again in the 34th minute, Sergio Gómez flashing a fine volley just wide of the far post, as the Bernabéu crowd began to voice its frustration.
Mbappé briefly changed the mood five minutes before half-time with a flash of class. Fede Valverde collected the ball just beyond midfield and split the defence with a superb pass, allowing Mbappé to surge into the box, cut left and lash a shot into the top corner. But Madrid’s defensive uncertainty returned four minutes later.
Ibrahima Konaté, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras were all caught out after Job Ochieng latched on to a long ball, his deflected effort falling to Sucic on the right, who had time to steady himself and drill a low shot past Courtois. Mourinho sent on Marc Cucurella at half-time and Madrid emerged transformed, with Vinícius and Mbappé stretching the visitors with direct running and greater intensity. The hosts regained the lead on the hour when Mbappé and Jude Bellingham exchanged a sharp one-two, leaving the France captain free inside the box to beat Álex Remiro with a low finish.
Eight minutes later, Bellingham’s pressing won the ball back near the byline and his low cross gave Vinícius the simplest of tap-ins from close range. Mbappé completed the win in the 80th minute after Vinícius slipped a clever pass behind the defence, the forward lifting a composed chip over Remiro to seal his hat-trick.
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