Malaga produced an exhibition of classic counter-attacking football to humble regional rivals Recreativo Huelva in a one-sided Andalusian derby at the Nuevo Colombino on Sunday.
Much of the crowd had barely had time to sit down when Portuguese striker Eliseu Pereira gave the visitors the lead after just 38 seconds of play.
Morocco striker Nabil Baha doubled Malaga's lead six minutes before half-time and Antonio Tapia's side added to their tally just after the interval through Sergio Duda.
And Eliseu wrapped up an impressive win with his second of the afternoon after 62 minutes.
Both sides had struggled prior to this game.
Newly-promoted Malaga came into the match with just four points from the previous five rounds of the Primera Liga and were yet to win any away from home.
Recreativo also came into this game with four points on the board, and were without a victory at the Nuevo Colombino.
Malaga coach Tapia claimed on Saturday that this game would be crucial for his side's future in the top flight.
But even he will have been surprised at just how quickly his message bore fruit, as his side went into the lead after only 38 seconds.
Adrian Lopez cut into the area from the left flank and slid the ball across the six-yard box for the advancing Eliseu, who slotted home from close-range to give Malaga a perfect start.
Asier Riesgo stood up well to deny the visitors a second after 18 minutes, when he saved from Duda, who was one-on-one with the Recre goalkeeper.
Eliseu was similarly denied by Riesgo after 39 minutes as Malaga continued to threaten.
And from the resulting corner, the visitors went two up, when Duda swung in the cross and Baha rose unchallenged to head past Riesgo.
Recre had looked poor at the back and failed to create a single chance of note in the first half.
And things went from bad to worse for the home side as Malaga scored a third shortly after the break.
Recre half-cleared a Malaga free-kick, but Eliseu picked up the loose ball and ran into the area before squaring for his compatriot Duda, who applied an easy finish to put the visitors out of reach.
But still Malaga continued to dominate and three became four just after the hour-mark, when Baha picked out Eliseu with a cross and the Portuguese striker beat Riesgo with a lovely left-footed volley.
Malaga's dominance was total against a toothless Recre side, but the home side should have pulled a goal back in the dying minutes when Javi Guerrero blasted inexplicably over the bar from point-blank range after being set up by Ersen Martin.
It summed up Recre's afternoon and they will want to forget about this match as quickly as possible.
The defeat sees Manuel Zambrano's side drop into the relegation zone, where they sit on just four points.
Malaga, meanwhile, will be far happier and move up to 12th place.
