Mbappe scores second hat trick of the season as Real Madrid rout Real Sociedad

Mbappe scored his second hat trick of the season as Real Madrid cruised past a Real Sociedad side that managed to cause some trouble for about half an hour at the Bernabeu. The final score, 4-1, was built on a fast start, a brief equalizer from the Basque side, and a second half in which the home side simply hit the accelerator whenever it wanted to.

The match, part of LaLiga, opened with Real Madrid controlling possession and creating chances from the first minute: Vinicius gave an early warning after two minutes and Mbappe tested Remiro shortly after. Real Sociedad's resistance held until the 39th minute, when Federico Valverde set up Mbappe for a left footed finish into the top corner to open the scoring. The home side's joy lasted barely four minutes: Luka Sucic leveled in the 43rd minute with a low shot from the center of the box, making it 1-1 at halftime.

The second half told a different story. Real Madrid came out with renewed intensity and, after several shots were stopped by Zubeldia, found the net again in the 59th minute: Jude Bellingham slipped in a through ball and Mbappe finished for 2-1. Eight minutes later, in the 67th minute, Vinicius Junior capitalized on another Bellingham assist to score the third from close range, effectively settling the match. The fourth arrived in the 79th minute, with Vinicius turning provider this time and Mbappe completing his hat trick from point blank range to make it 4-1. In stoppage time, a goal from Brahim Diaz was disallowed by VAR after review, though it did not affect the final result.

The numbers behind the dominance

Possession finished nearly even, but the difference showed up in the chances created: Real Madrid doubled Real Sociedad's shot total and nearly tripled it in shots on target.

That shooting advantage also shows up in the post match xG calculated from shot locations: 2.51 for Real Madrid against 0.71 for Real Sociedad, an in-house estimate confirming that the home side deserved to win by a wide margin, well beyond the scare of that momentary equalizer.

The preview we published had Real Madrid as heavy favorites, with a 68% chance of victory against 13% for Real Sociedad and 19% for a draw, with expected goals of 2.52 for the home side and 1.05 for the visitors. What happened on the field ended up being even more emphatic than projected: Real Madrid not only won but comfortably exceeded that goal expectation with its four tallies, while Real Sociedad finished with just one despite briefly leveling in the first half.

What the standings show

With this result, Real Madrid reaches 6 points from two matches played, with a perfect record and a goal difference of plus 4, sitting near the top alongside Sevilla and Real Betis, also on 6 points. Real Sociedad, meanwhile, has lost both of its opening two matches and remains pointless, with a goal difference of minus 4. The gap between the two clubs in the table stands at 6 points, an accurate reflection of what played out on the Bernabeu turf.

For Real Madrid, the match confirms an attacking trio in top form, with Mbappe as the standout performer and Bellingham and Vinicius as decisive partners in creating chances. For Real Sociedad, the challenge remains fixing a defense that has conceded too easily to start the league campaign, despite Sucic's fine individual effort to momentarily level the score.