Kylian Mbappé delivered a masterclass at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, scoring a brilliant hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to a resounding 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad. Despite an unsteady patch in the first half caused by defensive lapses and bad luck, the Spanish giants asserted total control after the interval. Vinícius Júnior also found the net to cap off a commanding team performance.
Real Sociedad threatened first in their opening away fixture of the season, constructing fluid, short-passing moves. In the 11th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal found himself unmarked inside the penalty area following a crisp team combination. The Spanish international hit a firm strike, but goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois reacted swiftly to parry the attempt away with his feet.
Real Madrid responded ten minutes later with a golden opportunity of their own. Mbappé slipped a precise pass into the box to find Vinícius completely unmarked with only the goalkeeper to beat. However, Álex Remiro stood tall and blocked the Brazilian forward’s effort with a sharp foot-save. Sociedad created another dangerous opening in the 35th minute when Oyarzabal whipped a cross from the right wing to Sergio Gómez, whose powerful volley fizzed inches wide of the far post.
The deadlock was broken in the 40th minute through a moment of individual brilliance from Mbappé. Collecting a superb long pass from Fede Valverde inside the box, the French forward used an exquisite first touch to evade his marker before unleashing a clinical finish past Remiro.
The home crowd’s celebration was short-lived, as Real Sociedad equalised just four minutes later. A scuffed shot by Ochieng inside the area took a heavy deflection off a Real Madrid defender, looping into the path of Luka Sučić. The Croatian midfielder reacted instantly, sweeping a clean diagonal shot past Courtois to send the teams into the break level at 1-1.
Real Madrid emerged from the interval with renewed urgency, pressing Sociedad deep into their own half. The pressure paid off in the 60th minute when Mbappé combined seamlessly with Jude Bellingham in a swift one-two before creating half a yard of space to drill a low diagonal shot into the bottom corner.
Eight minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage following a defensive blunder by the visitors. Real Sociedad surrendered possession deep in their own territory, allowing Bellingham to collect the loose ball and drive between two defenders into the penalty box. Although his initial shot was blocked, the English midfielder relentlessly reclaimed the ball at the byline and squared it across the six-yard box for Vinícius, who tapped into an empty net.
Mbappé completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute, capping off a lethal counter-attack. Vinícius threaded a nutmeg pass through the legs of a Sociedad defender, releasing Mbappé just outside the six-yard box to slot home his third goal of the evening.
Brahim Díaz thought he had added a fifth goal in the 90th minute after replacing Arda Güler, but his effort was ruled out for offside following a video assistant referee (VAR) review. The victory marks Real Madrid’s second consecutive win of the domestic campaign, placing them at the top of the table with six points, alongside Sevilla and Real Betis.
