Kalu Uche struck three times to help Espanyol record a 5-1 home victory over Rayo Vallecano this afternoon.
The Nigerian striker claimed his first goal within the opening ten minutes, before Philippe Coutinho made it 3-0 with two strikes in quick succession.
Uche grabbed his second just before the break when he struck right-footed from outside area into the top left hand corner of the net.
Veteran striker Raul Tamudo pulled one back for the visitors nine minutes after the restart when he converted a cross from Joel Robles.
Tamudo's intervention failed to produce a comeback from Vallecano, who fell further behind in the 68th minute when Uche completed his hat-trick from inside the area.
The victory has lifted Espanyol into the top half of the La Liga table.
Liam Apicella
