MADRID — Striker Lucas Perez scored a goal in each half to help Deportivo La Coruna defeat Espanyol 3-0 and move closer to the leaders in the Spanish league Sunday. Deportivo went ahead with an own goal by Espanyol defender Alvaro Gonzalez in the 14th minute, and Perez made it 2-0 after a fast breakaway in the 27th and added a third from inside the area in the 49th. They were Perez's third and fourth goals this season, leaving him only one behind league leaders Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. It was Deportivo's third win in six matches, enough to keep it within range of first-place Villarreal and the rest of the teams crowding the top of the table at the start of the season. Villarreal has 16 points, one more than Barcelona and two more than Real Madrid and Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid has 12 points in fifth place, only one point more than Deportivo in sixth. Three teams have nine points each after the sixth round: Eibar, Valencia and ninth-placed Espanyol, which could have moved to fifth had it won Sunday's match in La Coruna. The top-three title contender was coming off surprising setbacks, opening the way for more teams to stay near the lead. On Saturday, Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Villarreal, while Real Madrid was held by visitors Malaga to a scoreless draw. Barcelona, which lost Lionel Messi because of an injury in its 2-1 home win over Las Palmas Saturday, had been beaten 4-1 by Celta Vigo in the previous round. Also Sunday, Real Betis moved to eight points by coming from behind to earn a 2-1 win at Sporting Gijon. In the late matches, Getafe defeated Levante 3-0 at home, while Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao played to a 0-0 draw in the Basque derby. Fiorentina crushes Inter In Milan, Inter Milan's perfect record this season was left in tatters Sunday after Fiorentina triumphed 4-1 at San Siro to move top of Serie A. Nikola Kalinic scored a hat trick and also won a penalty which Josip Ilicic converted for the fourth-minute opener. Mauro Icardi netted a consolation goal for 10-man Inter on the hour mark. Fiorentina moved above Inter on goal difference. It is the first time the Tuscan side has been top of Serie A since February 1999 — after beating AC Milan. Inter and Fiorentina both have 15 points, two more than Torino after it held on for a 2-1 win over Palermo despite ending the match with nine men. Sassuolo, which drew 1-1 against Chievo Verona, is a point further back. Lazio also has 12 points after the capital side came from behind with 10 men to win 2-1 at Hellas Verona for the first time in 24 years. Marco Parolo snatched Lazio's late winner, minutes after the dismissal of defender Mauricio for a second yellow card. Udinese also came from behind to win by the same scoreline at Bologna, ending a four-match losing streak, while 10-man AC Milan lost 1-0 at Genoa. Nice hammers Saint-Etienne Saint-Etienne missed the chance to close the gap on French league leader Paris Saint-Germain Sunday as it fell to a surprise 4-1 defeat at home to a Nice side which ended the match with nine men. Earlier, Marseille's miserable start to the season continued with a 2-1 home defeat to Angers. Montpellier beat Lorient 2-1 and last year's runner-up Monaco was held 3-3 at Guingamp. — Agencies
