Mbappé silences critics with stunning hat-trick against Real Sociedad

Kylian Mbappé delivered one of his best performances in a Real Madrid shirt on Wednesday evening, scoring a hat-trick in the 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabéu in a rescheduled first-day La Liga match.

Deployed as the main striker for the Merengues, the France captain opened the scoring shortly before half-time with a powerful shot into the top corner. Real Sociedad briefly equalized through Luka Sučić (44’), but Mbappé quickly restored his side’s lead with a precise right-footed finish past Álex Remiro. Vinicius Jr had meanwhile put Real out of reach before the Frenchman capped off the evening by converting a third chance into the net.

However, it was his message posted on X (formerly Twitter) immediately after the final whistle that instantly set social media ablaze. “Not happy? Hat-trick… 🎩⚽⚽⚽”, he wrote, reviving a quip he had made in jest during a 2018 interview to respond to criticism about his level. By resurrecting this iconic phrase after a hat-trick, Mbappé takes an ironic jab at skeptics who had questioned his performance at the start of the season at Real Madrid.

This performance comes at a time when the former Paris player was looking to build on his early promise in the colors of Casa Blanca. With this home hat-trick, he answers with facts those who doubted his adaptation to Carlo Ancelotti’s system.