Tamudo Was The Best

Skipper Raul Tamudo scored twice, Valdo once, and Luis Garcia provided all the three assists as the Catalan side secured third place with a dominant show against Villarreal.

If anything, the 3-0 scoreline flattered the Yellow Submarines, who could well have conceded three more in what was largely one way traffic.

Manuel Pellegrini's boys managed to return some sanity to the proceedings in the second half, but it was too little too late, and Ernesto Valverde's boys were never really in trouble as they cruised to a win.

First Half

Espanyol began with a very attacking formation, with Ivan De la Pena in midfield, Albert Riera and Valdo out wide, and Tamudo and Luis Garcia up front, and the effects were there to see.

The early moments saw them survive some pressure, but once they managed to score the first goal, there was really only one team in the game.

De la Pena found Luis Garcia with a pass from midfield, and the striker coolly touched it to Tamudo, who took a couple of touches, burst into the box, and rifled it past Sebastian Viera and into the far corner.

Villarreal had barely caught their breath when they conceded their second. Luis Garcia thundered a free-kick against the crossbar, and Valdo acrobatically back-heeled the rebound into the corner from ten yards out.

Five more minutes, and it was 3-0. Luis Garcia curled a corner into the box, Valdo headed it on at the near post, and Tamudo popped up at the back to nod it in from point blank range.

That was the game done and dusted, but Espanyol wanted more. Albert Riera fired inches wide from just outside the box after being set up by De la Pena, before the playmaker himself came close with a volley. He was having a stunning game, and set up Tamudo again, but the Espanyol skipper was denied his hat-trick by a last gasp clearance just before the break.

Second Half

Manuel Pellegrini's half time talk had some impact, as Villarreal began keeping the ball better after the break, but Espanyol had also decided to take a slightly more conservative approach.

The Submarines enjoyed some possession for the first twenty minutes, but clear cut chances were hard to come by. The closest they came was when Giuseppe Rossi - who had worked tirelessly all night but to no avail - fired a free-kick onto the woodwork twenty minutes from time.

If anything, it was Espanyol who should have had a fourth goal, but Tamudo was denied by hat-trick by the linesman after his effort was cleared from over the goal line.

Villarreal had given up, and settled for a clean sheet in the second half despite a few late attempts by Matias Fernandez. De la Pena almost capped his superb display off with a late strike, but fired his free-kick inches over in injury time.

The result sees Espanyol consolidate third spot, just one point separating them from local rivals Barcelona, who won earlier in the evening.