Goals either side of half time helped Rayo Vallecano to a comprehensive 2-0 win over Espanyol in La Liga this afternoon.

The home side drew first blood with less than 10 minutes on the clock when Alejandro Dominguez turned Leo Baptistao's cross into the bottom corner from close range.

Espanyol responded positively and almost drew level three minutes later through Sergio Garcia, whose right-footed effort from outside the box was saved by Ruben Martinez.

Piti squandered two chances to extend Vallecano's lead in as many minutes just after the 20-minute mark, firing wide after David Cobeno had kept out his initial effort.

Cobeno was the busier of the two keepers in the first period, pulling off additional saves to deny Dominguez, and Piti again in the 26th minute.

Vallecano almost landed another blow early in the second period when Jose Carlos tested Cobeno from a tight angle after being lined up by Piti.

Paco Jemez's side remained in the ascendency, but it wasn't all one-way traffic. Espanyol came to life after the hour mark, with consecutive chances falling to Garcia and Joan Verdu.

However, Piti killed off any hope of a fightback when he found the net after latching onto a through-ball from Jordi Figueras to make it 2-0 to the home side.