Kylian Mbappe scored three times as Jose Mourinho marked his return to the Santiago Bernabeu with a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad in the opening round of La Liga on 26 August.
Real Madrid made the stronger start and immediately pinned their opponents back with an aggressive high press. Mbappe had the first major opportunity when he broke into the left side of the penalty area, but his low effort was saved by Alex Remiro.
Real Sociedad responded with a chance of their own. Mikel Oyarzabal moved into a similar position and produced a dangerous attempt, but Thibaut Courtois kept it out with his leg.
The hosts continued to apply pressure. Federico Valverde won possession brilliantly inside the visitors’ penalty area before Mbappe teed up Vinicius Junior, whose shot from a tight angle struck the goalkeeper.
However, Real Sociedad remained dangerous on the counter. Oyarzabal lifted a delicate pass towards the left corner of the penalty area, where Sergio Gomez arrived at pace. The defender met the ball first time and curled an effort towards the far corner, narrowly missing the target.
The two sides eventually traded goals within four minutes at the end of the first half.
Once again, Valverde drove through the middle and found Mbappe near the edge of the penalty area. The France forward controlled the pass with his first touch, nudged the ball slightly to his left and then fired into the top corner with his second.
Real Sociedad levelled almost immediately. Konate blocked Ochieng’s effort, but the loose ball ran to the right side of the penalty area. Luka Sucic reached it and struck a powerful effort inside the post to make it 1-1.
Real Madrid controlled more of the second half and gave their opponents fewer opportunities. Mbappe threatened after receiving a pass from Arda Guler, before the Turkey international tested Remiro himself. Marc Cucurella then created another opening with a shot from an acute angle.
The pressure finally told shortly after the hour mark. Mbappe exchanged passes with Jude Bellingham on the edge of the area before finishing low into the corner from the left side to restore Real Madrid’s lead.
Bellingham then helped settle the contest. The midfielder initially appeared to lose control in the penalty area and saw his first attempt blocked by Beitia. He reacted quickly to win the ball back near the edge of the six-yard box and delivered it across goal, allowing Vinicius Junior to score from close range.
Mbappe completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes of normal time remaining. Vinicius produced a disguised pass behind Beitia, sending Mbappe through on the right side of the six-yard box. The forward made no mistake, powering his finish past Remiro to put Real Madrid 4-1 ahead.
Real Madrid thought they had added a fifth when Carlos Espi followed up after his own shot, but the goal was ruled out because Espi had been a metre offside.
The result gave Mourinho a victorious return to the Santiago Bernabeu, 12 years after his previous appearance there. Real Madrid moved to the top of the league table, while Real Sociedad left Madrid heavily beaten. Arsen Zakharyan was included in the Real Sociedad squad but did not come off the bench.
