José Mourinho's first home match since returning to the Real Madrid dugout could hardly have gone better. His side thrashed Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday night, with Kylian Mbappé scoring a hat-trick to open his own La Liga account for the season against one of his favourite opponents in Spain.
Mbappé struck in the 40th, 60th and 80th minutes, either side of a Vinícius Júnior goal in the 68th, as Real Madrid pulled away from a Sociedad side that had briefly threatened an upset through Luka Sučić's equaliser in first-half stoppage time. Jude Bellingham supplied two assists as the club's attacking trio combined freely once again.
The result gave Mourinho back-to-back wins to start his second spell in charge, and a first home league victory in front of a Bernabéu crowd that has waited to see how the Portuguese coach's return would blend with a forward line already built around Mbappé, Vinícius and Bellingham.
Across town three days earlier, the mood at the Metropolitano told a very different story. Julián Álvarez was booed and jeered by sections of the Atlético Madrid crowd during a 2-2 draw with Villarreal on August 23 — whistles greeting his name on the big screen before kick-off, and more when the Argentine was introduced as a substitute in the 66th minute.
The hostility followed Álvarez's own admission, made during this year's World Cup, that he hoped to leave Atlético in pursuit of a move to Barcelona. The forward, who joined from Manchester City, has also been strongly linked with Arsenal in a summer window that has left his position at the club unresolved.
Atlético coach Diego Simeone confirmed after the Villarreal draw that it was a club decision, not the player's own, to keep Álvarez away from the customary post-match lap to greet supporters — sending him straight down the tunnel rather than risk a further confrontation with the stands.
The two scenes, replayed a few kilometres apart in Spain's capital this week, capture the contrasting temperatures around two of La Liga's most closely watched forwards: one newly anointed by an adoring Bernabéu, the other left to face down a fanbase that feels betrayed by his stated wish to leave.
