Kylian Mbappe is at it again.
Just more than a month after his hat trick in the third-place game of the World Cup, which confirmed his place as the top scorer in the 2026 tournament with 10 goals, Mbappe scored another hat trick and helped Real Madrid roll to a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad.
It was the first home match for Los Blancos since the return of Jose Mourniho as manager, a position he previously occupied between 2010-2013.
After being kept off the scoresheet in Real Madrid's season-opening win over Espanyol, Mbappe scored in the 40th minute, then added goals in the 60th and 80th minutes for a symmetrical hat trick with one goal coming every 20 minutes.
The opener came when Mbappe took a long, low pass and put the ball on his left foot near
the top of the area to get around the center back. He finished with his left foot. The second saw him play creator, playing a quick one-two with attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham to get free and finish. And on the third, Mbappe ran onto a perfectly weighted ball from winger Vinicius Jr., using his left to chip the ball over the diving goalkeeper and into the net.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ COMPLETES HIS HAT TRICK 👏 pic.twitter.com/9sWDORpHyl
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 26, 2026
"Mbappe has that scoring ability, to create. When the team is having the most difficulty, he's able to drop and connect with Vini and Jude and help the team win some meters and build danger," Mourinho said in his post-match news conference. "Obviously he's had an incredible game, but the team always has been the team. It's a great team game with a lot of high-quality individual actions."
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ SCORES HIS FIRST GOAL OF THE SEASON 🔥 pic.twitter.com/987lb9CFKr
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 26, 2026
The hat trick vaults Mbappe to the summit of the top scorer list in La Liga. Mbappe scored the most goals in the league the previous two seasons with 25 goals last season and 31 in his debut campaign in Spain.
Vinicius Jr. joined Mbappe as a scorer. Real Madrid now looks ahead to a Sunday match against Malaga back at the Estadio Bernabéu.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kylian Mbappe scores symmetrical hat trick for first Real Madrid goals since World Cup
