Kylian Mbappe Real Madrid had yet another starry night of scoring on Wednesday, hitting the target three times at Real Sociedad’s home in the 4-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid were unable to put things right after half-time, following a tough first 70 minutes. After a well-weighted pass from Federico Valverde, Mbappe broke any sort of barrier in the 40th minute, cutting inside and stealing the ball into the top corner.
Real Sociedad fired first. Madrid had a 45 minutes opportunity to get the lead before Luka Sucic struck a low shot past Thibaut Courtois four minutes later to level the score at the break.
It was in the 60th minute when Mbappe and Jude Bellingham pulled Real Madrid ahead. The Frenchman finished levelled off to put hosts back in the lead.
Madrid then extended their lead eight minutes later. Vinicius Jr cut in from close range in the process, as Bellingham turned the ball in close to the byline and delivered a low cross to a wide-open delivery.
But Mbappe was still to be the best of the best. The 80th minute saw Vinicius send him over the back of the Sociedad defence and the striker collected over goalkeeper Alex Remiro to nail his hat-trick.
The performance was particularly remarkable considering the problems faced at the beginning of the night and the frustration of parts of the Bernabeu supporters prior to the half time break.
Jose Mourinho, who coached Real Madrid, praised his players for taking pressure on the night and having a much better 45-minute showing. It is good to get some criticism from fans now and again to improve, he said, and he was happy with the team’s response.
The win puts Madrid off to a flying start in their home league competition and the three goals scored by Mbappe further demonstrate his central role to the Spanish giants attack.
