Kylian Mbappe announced his presence with authority as Real Madrid dismantled Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Bernabeu, a performance that also served as a statement victory on José Mourinho's return to his old haunt. The result marks Real Madrid's seventh straight league win over their Basque rivals, extending their own winning streak in La Liga to five matches heading into the top of the table.
Mourinho, who guided his side to an opening-day triumph over Espanyol, made no changes to that victorious lineup, keeping faith with the Mbappe-Vinicius Junior partnership that continues to terrorize defenses across Spain.
Real Madrid felt they should have taken an early lead in the seventh minute when Vinicius threaded a clever ball through to Mbappe, but goalkeeper Alex Remiro rose to deny the Frenchman from a narrow angle. The roles swapped moments later as Mbappe found Vinicius in space, only for Remiro to produce another impressive stop to keep the scores level.
Sociedad grew into the half and came agonizingly close to taking the lead when Sergio Gomez unleashed a stunning first-time left-footed volley that flew just wide of the far post.
Just before the break, however, Mbappe settled the matter. From a perfectly weighted pass by Federico Valverde, he controlled the ball on the move and curled a sublime left-footed strike past Remiro, adding yet another gem to his growing goal-tally this season.
Sociedad could not muster a response after the restart, and Mbappe doubled his personal tally with a clinical right-footed finish after a neat one-two combination with Jude Bellingham that left the visiting defense grasping at air. The England midfielder was everywhere, using his physical strength to shrug off Luken Beitia's challenge before setting up Vinicius Junior for a simple tap-in to make it 3-1.
Mbappe then completed his hat-trick with a delightful lob over Remiro, again latched onto an incisive pass from Vinicius, sending the Bernabeu into raptures and effectively sealing the contest.
Real Sociedad had carved out a moment of their own when Job Ochieng's initial effort took a deflection onto Luka Sucic, who pounced to fire home a surprise equalizer just four minutes before the interval — though Mbappe's earlier strike had already given Real the advantage.
The Frenchman missed a chance to extend his scoreline when Arda Guler played him clean through on goal, but his shot ran straight at Remiro. Brahim Diaz also saw a strike ruled out for offside, ensuring Sociedad's only blemish on an otherwise decent afternoon was contained to a single late consolation.
The result leaves Sociedad rooted to the bottom of La Liga following nine consecutive games without a win, having lost their opening two fixtures of the campaign. Meanwhile, Real Madrid stand proud at the summit, five wins on the bounce and looking increasingly formidable under Mourinho's guidance.
Mbappe was rightly named Man of the Match for a performance that reaffirmed his status as one of Europe's most devastating forwards.