Deportivo La Coruna have continued their strong start to the new La Liga season with a 3-0 win over an out-of-sorts Espanyol.
The result has moved Depor into sixth position in the table, while Espanyol have dropped to ninth following a third defeat of the new campaign.
The home side took control of the contest in the early stages, with Lucas Perez and Juanfran both coming close to opening the scoring inside the first 10 minutes.
It was an Espanyol player that actually sent Depor ahead, however, with Alvaro Gonzalez turning a Faycal Fajr free kick into his own net to send the hosts ahead.
Espanyol almost hit back 10 minutes later through Marco Asensio, but the on-loan Real Madrid attacker could only find the gloves of German Lux from close range.
The contest continued to flow from end-to-end as play developed, but it was Depor that scored the game's second goal. Luis Alberto did brilliantly to find space outside the box before feeding Perez, who dispatched his effort into the bottom corner for 2-0.
The visitors remained a threat though and hit the post through Pape Diop in the latter stages of the first period in La Coruna.
Depor put the game to bed early in the second period, however, when Celso Borges set up Perez for the attacker's second of the game. The hosts continued to dominate and had a golden chance to make it 4-0 in the 64th minute, but Oriol Riera struck the crossbar from close range.
It got worse for Espanyol late on as they were reduced to 10 men following a red for Diop on what was a miserable afternoon for the visitors.
Matt Law
