Mbappe shines as 10-man Real defeat Real Sociedad

Kylian Mbappe was at his brilliant best as Real Madrid showed grit to claim a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday, despite playing for an hour with 10 men after Dean Huijsen’s red card.

Mbappe and Arda Guler’s first-half goals were enough for Los Blancos to maintain their 100 percent record, with Mikel Oyarzabal pulling one back for the hosts from the penalty spot.

Xabi Alonso’s side top the table on 12 points from four games, with second-placed Athletic Bilbao facing Alaves later on, while champions Barcelona host Valencia on Sunday.

Madrid lined up with Dani Carvajal at right-back, leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench, while Fede Valverde was rested and Dani Ceballos came in.

Guler had a goal disallowed for offside early on as Los Blancos started strongly, with Real Sociedad still looking for their first win under new coach Sergio Francisco.

Mbappe broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when he sprinted on to a loose back-pass, beating two defenders for pace before producing a clinical finish for his fourth league goal this season.

Madrid’s task grew harder when Spanish centre-back Huijsen, signed from Bournemouth this summer, was dismissed for pulling back Oyarzabal as he ran towards goal.

Despite their numerical disadvantage Guler doubled Madrid’s lead before the break with a neat finish after a superb run from French superstar Mbappe, who teed him up after floating inside from the left.

The hosts improved in the second half and won a penalty after a Carvajal handball, which Oyarzabal dispatched.

However the Basque side did not have enough to take anything from the game, with Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois twice denying Oyarzabal.

Alonso warned Madrid’s stars ahead of the match they would be picked on merit and after a frustrating afternoon Vinicius Junior was replaced by Fran Garcia with over 20 minutes remaining, as the coach tried to shut up shop against his former playing side.

Madrid held on through six minutes of stoppage time to secure their victory.

Meanwhile, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick lashed out at the Spanish national team on Saturday after Lamine Yamal was ruled out of his team’s La Liga clash against Valencia.

The 18-year-old winger did not train with the Spanish champions because of a groin issue ahead of the game on Sunday, and is also a doubt to face Newcastle in the Champions League on Thursday.

Yamal played twice for Spain in 2026 World Cup qualifying wins against Bulgaria and Turkey last week.

“He will not be available -- for me it’s a pity. He went to the national team with pain, he did not train, he got painkillers for playing,” Flick told a news conference Saturday.

“In every match they were three goals (or more) ahead, he played 79 and 73 minutes. Between the matches he didn’t train. This is not taking care about players.

“Spain have best team in the world best players in the world. In every position they are unbelievably good. Maybe also when we want to take care of players, young players, it’s like that, doing this... I’m really sad about this.”

Flick said he had spoken briefly to Spain coach Luis de la Fuente via text message but their communication could be improved.

“Maybe it’s all about my Spanish not (being) good, his English not good. Communication... there could be better,” continued former Germany coach Flick.

“I was also on this side, (coaching a) national team, and I know how hard this job can be, but the communication with the clubs was always good.”

Flick confirmed Frenkie de Jong would also miss the Valencia game but midfielder Marc Bernal is fit to return to the squad for the first time since suffering a long-term knee injury nine months ago.

Barcelona will play the game at their 6,000 capacity Johan Cruyff training ground because the Spotify Camp Nou is not yet ready to be reopened.

“I spoke with the players, the captains, and they said it will not affect us,” said Flick.

“When we play at the new Camp Nou, 105,000 (capacity), maybe it’s a little bit different to playing at the Johan.

“As I said before it’s not an excuse, I will not use it, Valencia also has to play in this stadium.”

Agencies