Christian Stuani fires Espanyol past Almeria

A quickfire first-half double from Christian Stuani helped Espanyol win their fourth game in a row against lowly Almeria in La Liga.

Espanyol started the brighter and were close to an opener when Stuani hit the crossbar with a 15th-minute header.

The Uruguayan would make the breakthrough in the 37th minute when he pulled away to the back post and met Sergio Garcia's looped cross with a powerful header.

Four minutes later the hosts' lead was doubled as Garcia again provided for Stuani with a low cross from the right that the striker stroked home.

The gloss was put on the result 17 minutes from time when Felipe Caicedo ran clear and finished coolly from the left of the area.

Despite the win, Espanyol remain ninth in the table, with Almeria 18th and just a point off the bottom following their fourth straight defeat and 10th in 13 games.