5 Things we learned from Real Madrid’s resounding win over Real Sociedad
Mourinho takes home three points in his first first game back at the Bernabeu. It took some time but eventually Real Madrid were able to put Sociedad to the sword in the second half thanks to none other than Kylian Mbappe, the first half took some time to get going with Vinicius Junior and Mbappe going close for Madrid whilst Oyarzabal and Sergio Gomez went close for Sociedad. We did eventually get our first goal of the evening in the 39th minute as Valverde played a splitting pass into Mbappe in the box who took a touch past Jon Martin before firing into the top corner with his left-foot, Sociedad hit back almost immediately as Sergio Gomez played a ball over the top to Job Ochieng who had Konate stumbling before his shot was blocked by the Frenchman but the ball fell to Luka Sucic who side-footed the Copa Del Rey holders level going into half-time. Mourinho clearly had a go at his players at the break as they came out with far more energy and just fifteen minutes into the second half they retook the lead after some magical football from Valverde, Bellingham and Mbappe with a 1-2 between the World Cup semi-finalists setting Mbappe through who scored with a trademark finish past Remiro. From there Real Madrid where on another planet and added a third seven minutes after some great play by Bellingham initially had his shot blocked but the Engilshman was determined to win the ball back and did so before laying the ball on a plate for Vinicius Junior from about a yard out to all but finish the game for Madrid, they did add a fourth around the 80th minute with Vinicius Junior playing a cutting ball through to Mbappe who chipped Remiro for his hat-trick. A brilliant second half from Mourinho’s team to seal the three points.
When they play like that you don’t really stand a chance. The first half was a struggle for Madrid lacking any real energy in the middle which let Sociedad get out pretty easily from a poor press from Mbappe and Vini, saying that though they had plenty of chances to take the lead earlier than they did with Vinicius Junior having the best of the lot hitting a poor shot at Remiro after some brilliant play by Mbappe. Brilliant play that we saw for the Frenchman’s opening goal which was asissted brilliantly by Valverde but the initial touch from Mbappe was world-class and gave him an easy finish from close-range, the Sociedad goal comes from some really poor defending by Konate which then allows Ochieng to have a shot albeit it was blocked but then Carreras reacts too late and allows Sucic to shoot through his legs giving Courtois no chance. You did get the feeling that Madrid would up the tempo in the second half and that’s exactly what they did with the likes of Mbappe, Bellingham and Guler going to another level to sweep Sociedad aside pretty easily in the end, the second goal is my favourite of the lot and in my opnion is undefendable from a Sociedad standpoint as one-touch football from Valverde,Bellingham and Mbappe opens them up before the Frenchman finishes into the corner. Just a world-class goal that shows the potential this Madrid side has this season if it all clicks, other than Mbappe I thought Bellingham and Guler were the real standouts today and took Sociedad apart in the second half with some brilliant play. Is this the season Madrid reclaim the La Liga title from Barcelona? They’ve started on the right track.
A tough second half for Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu. They were more than competitive in the first half almost taking the lead through Oyarzabal if it wasn’t for Courtois making a great save and through Sergio Gomez who almost scored an insane volley from just inside the box, they didn’t drop the heads after conceding first and hit back instantly but there was a gulf in class in the second half that they just couldn’t keep up with. It’s completely understandable as well considering they have two very young centre-backs with Jon Martin being 20 years old whilst Luken Beitia is 22 years old, coming up against the best player in the world in only your 6th game in senior football was always going to be an uphill task for Beitia and it wasn’t his finest game out there. Real Sociedad haven’t made one signing in this window so far and you tell in the second half when Madrid were bringing on world-class talents whilst Sociedad were bringing on players like Guedes, Soler and Zubeldia who’s best years are far behind them, they need to build around their best players like Oyarzabal, Sucic and Kubo but they can’t do that without spending some money in the market. We’ll see if they make any moves over the next week, I’d be shocked if they didn’t.
Is this the season we see Kylian Mbappe fire Real Madrid to a major trophy? We are now at our third year of Mbappe at Real Madrid and we are yet to see him lift a major trophy at the club, it’s not through the want of trying with the Frenchman scoring 89 goals in 105 games for the club but at some point those goals surely have to result in a trophy of some sort? The petition to remove him from the club last season reached 70 million signatures which I think is completely mental but shows that Madrid fans have reached breaking point with him, the focus should more be on Vinicius Junior who has been awful for quite some time on that left-wing but he’s fired Real Madrid to La Ligas and Champions Leagues in the past so is clearly allowed some leeway by Madrid fans. Despite his outrageous goal scoring record Real Madrid fans clearly still don’t trust him to lead the club back to the top of the football pyramid, I suppose there’s only one way to prove them wrong. Bring a La Liga or Champions League title back to the Bernabeu this season, he’s started on the right track tonight.
Any more business to complete before the window ends? I still think Real Madrid need a midfielder but having missed out on Rodri I don’t see them dipping their toes back in the market unless and opportunity comes up that they can’t turn down, they still have a massive squad with the likes of Rodrygo, Endrick, Tchouameni, Pitarch etc all to come back at some point so maybe Florentino Perez will be happy enough with the window bar Rodri obviously. For Sociedad you’d imagine some players will come in with Hector Fort heavily rumoured to come in from Barcelona which would be a tidy addition to full-back in my opinion, they could do with a couple more additions to bolster the squad with Europa League football to play this season but I can’t see too many coming in. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.