Kylian Mbappe gave Jose Mourinho the perfect welcome back to the Santiago Bernabeu, scoring a hat-trick as Real Madrid swept aside Real Sociedad 4-1 to maintain their perfect start to the La Liga campaign.
The victory made it two wins from two for Mourinho since returning to the Madrid dugout, with Vinicius Junior also finding the net and Jude Bellingham playing a decisive role with two assists.
Mourinho retained the starting XI that secured a late 2-1 victory at Espanyol in his first match in charge last weekend. His biggest challenge is expected to be finding a way to get Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham performing at their best together, and the performance against Sociedad offered encouraging signs.
Both sides created chances during an entertaining opening period. Vinicius fired over before Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro denied Mbappe at his near post. Thibaut Courtois was also forced into action, producing a smart save to keep out Mikel Oyarzabal.
Madrid finally broke the deadlock five minutes before half-time. Federico Valverde found Mbappe, who used a clever touch to evade his marker before sending a superb finish into the top corner.
Sociedad responded almost immediately. A blocked effort fell to Luka Sucic, who fired home after his shot took a deflection off Alvaro Carreras to send the teams into the break level.
Mbappe restored Madrid’s advantage early in the second half after another promising move. Bellingham received the ball following an exchange with Valverde and released Mbappe, who calmly finished beyond Remiro.
Vinicius then added Madrid’s third after Bellingham showed persistence to win the ball back inside the Sociedad penalty area before setting up the Brazilian for a simple finish.
The Brazilian soon returned the favour. Vinicius picked out Mbappe with a perfectly weighted pass, allowing the Frenchman to complete his hat-trick with a delicate dink over Remiro.
The goal capped a dominant second-half display from Madrid’s attacking trio and gave Mourinho a memorable first home victory since his return.
Vinicius was replaced seven minutes from time by record signing Yan Diomande and left the pitch to a warm embrace from Mourinho.
The Brazilian’s positive reaction was notable given tensions surrounding his substitution under former coach Xabi Alonso last season.
With Barcelona hosting Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, Mourinho’s Madrid will take plenty of confidence from a performance that suggested their star attackers may already be finding their rhythm together.
