Kylian Mbappé had the Bernabéu singing on José Mourinho’s return as the French superstar hit a hat-trick to fire Real Madrid to a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
Mbappé was the difference on a night when Madrid had to recover from conceding first, with his three goals taking his Real Madrid tally to 101 goal contributions and giving Mourinho the perfect homecoming in his second spell at the club.
The night did not begin as smoothly as Madrid would have wanted.
The hosts controlled much of the early play but struggled to turn their pressure into a breakthrough until Mbappé finally found the opening in the 40th minute. The Frenchman showed his composure inside the box before finishing to give Madrid the lead.
Sociedad, however, had an immediate response.
Luka Sučić levelled four minutes later, punishing Madrid just before half-time and ensuring the visitors went into the break believing they could take something away from the Bernabéu.
Madrid returned from the interval with a different urgency.
Mbappé restored the lead in the 60th minute, completing his brace after linking up with Jude Bellingham and finishing the move to put Madrid back in control.
Then came Vinícius Júnior.
The Brazilian had been waiting for his first goal of the campaign, and he finally got it in the 68th minute as Madrid began to pull away from Sociedad.
The Bernabéu was now fully alive, but Mbappé still had one more moment to deliver.
In the 80th minute, the France captain completed his hat-trick with a composed finish, sealing the 4-1 victory and taking his Madrid goal contributions to 101.
It was also the perfect way for Mourinho to mark his first competitive home match since returning to the Bernabéu.
After opening his second spell with a 2-1 away win, the Portuguese manager now has six points from his first two league games and a convincing victory in front of the home supporters.
For Madrid, the early signs are encouraging. Mbappé is already finding his rhythm, Vinícius Jr. is back among the goals and Mourinho has started his return with two victories.
