Spanish La Liga Round-up
Valencia were in devastating form as they crushed bottom club Espanyol 4-0 at the Mestalla to record their sixth win on the trot and reclaim top spot in the Primera Liga on Sunday.
Two goals from striker Mista and one from the outstanding Ruben Baraja put Valencia 3-0 up by the break and winger Vicente added a fourth 11 minutes from time to complete the rout against a sorry-looking Espanyol, who have yet to win this season.
The result means Valencia, who have conceded just one goal in their seven matches, retain top spot after the weekend's matches with 19 points, one ahead of Deportivo Coruna, who beat Barcelona 2-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Champions Real Madrid, who claimed a valuable 2-0 win at Celta Vigo on Saturday, are two points further back in third.
Osasuna, who are more accustomed to battling it out at the other end of the table, regained fourth spot after a goal in each half from Ivory Coast striker Ibrahima Bakayoko gave them a 2-1 win against nine-man Murcia at El Sadar.
Valencia are now the only unbeaten team in the top flight after neighbours Villarreal slipped to their first defeat of the season when they lost 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao.
Atletico Madrid moved out of the relegation zone after a sweetly struck free kick from substitute Jorge gave them a last gasp 2-1 victory at home to Real Mallorca, who remain in trouble.
Valencia, whose winning streak has included victories over Real Madrid and Barcelona, were gifted an early goal by their unlucky opponents at the Mestalla. Espanyol goalkeeper Toni attempted to clear a harmless through pass from Baraja, but the ball took a deflection off a defender and fell to the feet of Mista who guided the ball into the empty net from the edge of the area after eight minutes.
Boosted by their early stroke of good fortune, Valencia took control of the game with Baraja and Pablo Aimar bossing the midfield and Mista threatening up front. Espanyol rallied midway through the half, but the Catalans were unable to respond when Rafa Benitez's side moved up a gear just before the break.
Baraja clipped in from an acute angle after beating the offside trap to latch on to a fine through ball from Carlos Marchena and a minute later Mista grabbed his fifth goal of the season to put Valencia 3-0 up before halftime.
The former Real Madrid youth player slotted home unmarked at the far post when winger Vicente squared the ball into his path after Aimar had split the defence with another sharp pass.
Valencia continued to dominate in the second half and it was no surprise when Vicente completed a masterful team performance with a crisp finish on 79 minutes to complete a lightning break involving Baraja and fellow midfielder Carlos Marchena.
The defeat for Espanyol, who had to field a host of reserve team players due to a spate of injuries, leaves them stranded at the bottom of the table with two points and puts further pressure on coach Javier Clemente.