Kylian Mbappe shines as 10-man Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad

SAN SEBASTIAN: Kylian Mbappe shone with a stellar performance, providing an assist for Arda Guler and scoring a goal, and the 10-man Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 2-1 on Saturday, maintaining their perfect La Liga start.

Madrid started off the game aggressively as Mbappe set up Guler in the second minute of the match for what appeared to be the opening goal, but VAR came into play to find the France captain slightly offside.

Mbappe then capitalised on the defensive error from the Sociedad 10 minutes later to score his fourth league goal of the season.

But defender Dean Huijsen’s exit made it difficult for Madrid when he was shown a red card at the 32nd-minute mark for hauling down Mikel Oyarzabal as the last man.

Real Madrid players and manager Xabi Alonso were not happy with the referee Jesus Gil Manzano’s decision, arguing that Oyarzabal was far from the box.

"I thought it was a clear yellow card watching from the sideline and, after taking a close look at the replay, I'm even more sure that it wasn't worth a straight red," Alonso told a press conference.

"But I'm proud that my players kept fighting and came out with a win, we had good chances to score more goals and held on well on the back. I was very positive to see the collective effort and team spirit they showed on the pitch today."

Despite the 10-man on the field, Madrid doubled its advantage at the brink of halftime when Kylian Mbappe set up Arda Guler to score from close range.

Real Sociedad reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 56th minute through Oyarzabal from the penalty spot following a handball by Dani Carvajal.

However, the visitors put on an impressive display despite being one man short, securing a hard-fought victory, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois ensuring that the football was not put into the net.

Real Madrid are at the top of the La Liga table with 12 points from four matches.