Kylian Mbappé produced a captivating attacking display at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday night, scoring a sublime hat-trick to propel Real Madrid to a convincing 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad. Although defensive hesitancy and bad fortune temporarily pegged the hosts back in the first half, Madrid’s clinical second-half performance proved overwhelming. Vinícius Júnior also wrote his name onto the scoresheet as the reigning European champions produced a statement of intent early in the domestic campaign.
Real Sociedad started the match with noticeable confidence, mounting sharp, short-passing moves that unsettled the home defence during their first away trip of the season. In the 11th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal found space inside the penalty box following a swift interchange of passes. The Spanish forward struck cleanly, but Thibaut Courtois reacted dynamically to push the effort clear with his boots.
Real Madrid answered ten minutes later with a golden opening. Mbappé threaded a delicate pass through the defensive line to find Vinícius unmarked with only the goalkeeper to beat. Álex Remiro stood firm, matching his counterpart by blocking the Brazilian’s shot with a sharp foot-save. Sociedad threatened again in the 35th minute when Oyarzabal picked out Sergio Gómez with a deep cross from the right flank, only for the midfielder’s venomous volley to shave the outside of the far post.
The deadlock finally broke five minutes before half-time through a moment of individual class from Mbappé. Tracking Fede Valverde’s long diagonal pass into the penalty box, the French international cushioned the ball with an exquisite touch to eliminate his marker before driving a low, clinical strike past Remiro.
Bernabéu celebrations were abruptly paused just four minutes later. An awkward shot by Ochieng inside the penalty area took a heavy deflection off a Real Madrid defender, looping into the path of Luka Sučić. The Croatian midfielder read the trajectory perfectly, sweeping a crisp diagonal shot past Courtois to send the teams into the tunnel level at 1-1.
Real Madrid emerged after the interval with heightened intensity, pressing Sociedad deep inside their own half. That relentless pressure bore fruit in the 60th minute when Mbappé exchanged a rapid one-two with Jude Bellingham on the edge of the area, creating just enough space to drill a diagonal shot into the bottom corner.
Eight minutes later, Madrid extended their cushion following a defensive lapse from the Basque visitors. Conceding possession deep in their own territory, Sociedad allowed Bellingham to seize the loose ball and carve through two defenders into the box. Though his initial attempt was blocked, the energetic English midfielder chased down the rebound at the byline and squared it across the face of the six-yard box for Vinícius to tap home.
Mbappé completed his treble in the 80th minute, finishing off a devastating counter-attack. Vinícius slipped a cheeky nutmeg pass through a defender’s legs, releasing Mbappé inside the six-yard area to coolly slot home his third goal of the night.
Substitute Brahim Díaz believed he had added a fifth in the 90th minute after replacing Arda Güler, but the strike was chalked off for offside following a video assistant referee (VAR) check. The 4-1 triumph seals Real Madrid’s second straight league victory, keeping them at the summit of the table with six points, alongside early pacesetters Sevilla and Real Betis.
