Mbappé Hat-Trick Helps Real Madrid Thrash Sociedad 4-1

Kylian Mbappe scored a brilliant hat-trick to help Real Madrid thrash Real Sociedad 4-1 in La Liga. This victory came during Jose Mourinho's first home match back at the Santiago Bernabeu as the club's coach. The veteran Portuguese manager guided his team to two wins from two, building on momentum from last Saturday where he selected the same side that snatched a late 2-1 win at Espanyol.

Mourinho had admitted it would be tricky but not impossible to get the team's three biggest names all at their best. This match suggested he is indeed on the right track. Vinicius Junior also found the net, while Jude Bellingham provided two assists as the star trio picked apart their Basque visitors.

The game opened with an open start. Alex Remiro saved low at his near post from Mbappe during a chance for Los Blancos. At the other end, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a smart stop from Mikel Oyarzabal. Remiro was called into action again to deny Vinicius after Mbappe slipped in the Brazil international. Meanwhile, La Real's Sergio Gomez sent a volley screaming just wide of Courtois's far post.

Five minutes before half-time, Madrid found the breakthrough with Federico Valverde feeding Mbappe. The French forward, top scorer in La Liga in each of the last two seasons, took a clever touch to escape his marker and buried the ball in the top corner to claim the first goal of his campaign. However, Los Blancos could not survive to the break without conceding the equaliser against last season's Copa del Rey winners.

Job Ochieng dallied on the ball, and his shot was blocked, but it fell nicely to Luka Sucic, who rammed home with the help of a deflection off Alvaro Carreras. Arda Guler played in Mbappe early in the second half, whom Remiro denied initially. But the Spanish goalkeeper could do nothing about the former Paris Saint-Germain star's next effort.

A neat move involving Valverde and then Bellingham led to the latter playing in Mbappe again. The striker calmly stroked home for Madrid's third goal. That came from Vinicius, who had been quiet until this point, and he had the tenacity of Bellingham to thank. The England midfielder's shot was blocked, but he refused to give up. He won the ball back in Real Sociedad's area and put it on a plate for Vinicius to tap home.

The Brazilian, brought to life by his goal, set up Mbappe with a perfectly weighted pass for the striker's third. It was a dink over Remiro that stood out as the pick of the goals. With seven minutes left, Vinicius was substituted for record Madrid signing Yan Diomande. He embraced Mourinho after being brought off with the job done.

Madrid's previous campaign began to turn for the worse when Vinicius showed his anger after being replaced by Xabi Alonso during Madrid's Clasico win over Barcelona in October. But the forward, who recently extended his club deal until 2032, was all smiles today. On Thursday, Spanish champions Barcelona host Athletic Bilbao, with new signing Rodri poised to make his debut for Hansi Flick's side from the bench.