FOOTBALL – Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu yesterday 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.
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.
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