Mbappe hat-trick powers Real Madrid past Real Sociedad on Mourinho's Bernabeu return

MADRID: Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in their first home match of the LaLiga season.

Mbappe 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 and Vinicius Jr added a third in the 68th before Mbappe completed his treble 10 minutes from time.

It was also a winning return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Jose Mourinho, more than 13 years after his previous home match in charge of the ​club, as Real recovered from a disjointed first half with a ruthless display after the break.

Madrid were jeered ​before halftime after a sluggish opening in which they looked short of rhythm, careless in possession ⁠and vulnerable on the counter-attack.

“There’s always a sense of justice in the boos and the applause, and the odd boo ​now and then doesn’t do anyone any harm – it helps you grow,” Mourinho told a press conference.

“We all know the ​Santiago Bernabeu and just how demanding the fans are there, and I’m very pleased with how my players responded under pressure and put in a great second half, in which we could even have scored more goals.”

Sociedad carried the sharper threat early on and almost went ahead in ​the 10th minute when Take Kubo intercepted a loose pass near the edge of the box and slipped in Mikel ​Oyarzabal, whose close-range effort was kept out by Thibaut Courtois.

The visitors went close again in the 34th minute, Sergio Gomez flashing a fine ‌volley ⁠just wide of the far post, as the Bernabeu crowd began to voice its frustration.

Mbappe briefly changed the mood five minutes before halftime with a flash of class. Federico Valverde collected the ball just beyond midfield and split the defence with a superb pass, allowing Mbappe to surge into the box, cut left and lash a shot into the top corner.

But Real’s defensive ​uncertainty returned four minutes later. ​Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen ⁠and Alvaro Carreras were all caught out after Job Ochieng latched on to a long ball, his deflected effort falling to Luka Sucic on the right, who had time to steady ​himself and drill a low shot past Courtois.

Mourinho sent on Marc Cucurella at halftime and ​Madrid emerged transformed, ⁠with Vinicius Jr and Mbappe stretching the visitors with direct running and greater intensity.

The hosts regained the lead on the hour when Mbappe and Jude Bellingham exchanged a sharp one-two, leaving the France forward free inside the box to beat Alex Remiro with ⁠a low ​finish.

Eight minutes later, Bellingham’s pressing won the ball back near the byline ​and his low cross gave Vinicius the simplest of tap-ins from close range.

Mbappe completed the win in the 80th minute after Vinicius slipped a clever pass ​behind the defence, the forward lifting a composed chip over Remiro to seal his hat-trick.