Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring during the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
MADRID, Aug 27 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Jose Mourinho celebrated his return to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with a 4-1 home win over Real Sociedad on Wednesday night, Xinhua reported.
Mbappe scored once in the first half and twice in the second as Real Madrid overcame a difficult opening period before taking control after the break.
Real Sociedad did well to keep Real Madrid at bay in the first half, which kicked off after Real Madrid's Marc Cucurella and Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal received applause from the Santiago Bernabeu crowd for their roles in Spain's World Cup triumph.
A moment of quality in the 40th minute saw Fede Valverde pick out Mbappe, who cut inside and fired home to put Real Madrid ahead as the demanding home crowd began to show signs of discontent.
Real Madrid's lead lasted only four minutes before Luka Sucic equalised, after the home defence was slow to react when Job Ochieng's shot took a big deflection.
Sucic had time to pick his spot and slide the ball past Thibaut Courtois.
Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro reacted well to deny Mbappe a second goal early in the second half and then did well to block a cross from Cucurella, who came on as a substitute at the start of the second half.
Mbappe restored Real Madrid's lead just after the hour following a swift passing move with Jude Bellingham, who turned provider again in the 68th minute when he won the ball from Real Sociedad defender Luken Beitia to set up Vinicius Jr for his side's third goal of the night.
The World Cup top scorer completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute after an assist from Vinicius to seal a comfortable victory and a winning return to the Bernabeu for Mourinho.
-- BERNAMA-XINHUA
*BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial*