Espanyol routed Rayo Vallecano 5-1 thanks to Kalu Uche’s hat-trick for its first win in six games in the Spanish league on Sunday.

The Nigerian striker headed in the fourth-minute opener at Cornella-El Prat stadium as Espanyol sought to rebound from last week’s 5-0 defeat at Real Madrid.

Kalu Uche

Coutinho then scored his first goals since arriving at Espanyol on loan from Inter Milan. The 19-year-old Brazilian tapped in a cross from Sergio Garcia in the 10th and slalomed through two defenders to add another in the 23rd.

Uche netted with a superb chip shot from the edge of the area to make it 4-0 before halftime.

Former Espanyol striker Raul Tamudo pulled one back for Rayo in the 54th, but Uche capped his treble off a pass from Garcia in the 68th.

Also, Atletico Madrid beat Granada 2-0 with goals by Miranda and Radamel Falcao to break a five-week winless streak.
Barcelona visits out-of-form Racing Santander later, while Valencia hosts Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao is at Osasuna.

On Saturday, runaway leader Real Madrid beat Real Betis 3-2 for a club record 10th straight away win. Also, it was: Real Sociedad 3, Zaragoza 0; Malaga 1, Levante 0; and Sporting Gijon 1, Sevilla 0.