Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick to ensure Jose Mourinho enjoyed a winning return to the Bernabeu as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 in La Liga fixture yesterday.
Mourinho made the ideal start to his second stint in charge of Madrid at the weekend as he oversaw a 2-1 win at Espanyol, following it up with this victory.
Mourinho’s side had to be patient against a stubborn Real Sociedad but their quality ultimately told, with Mbappe producing three brilliant finishes while Jude Bellingham got two assists, also setting up Vinicius Jr for the third.
Plenty of fans packed out the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, eager to witness the return of the coach who brought them three domestic titles over a decade ago, winning 128 of his 178 matches in charge.
But Real Sociedad were clearly determined to spoil the party and initially made life difficult for the hosts.
However, Real Madrid broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time when Mbappe’s superb first-touch took him away from a defender just inside the box and he drove the ball into the back of the net.
Real Sociedad responded superbly and were level just four minutes later when a deflected shot fell kindly for Luka Sucic to fire into the net.
Two bits of Bellingham brilliance helped Real Madrid score two further goals midway through the second half.
He first played a neat one-two with Mbappe to allow the latter to place a shot beyond the goalkeeper, before Bellingham’s persistence inside the box ensured he was able to tee up Vinicius Jr for a tap-in.
Mbappe then wrapped up a brilliant night for him and Real Madrid when he ran onto Vinicius Jr’s fine ball into the box before chipping home.