Impressive Sevilla hand Atletico its first loss in Spain

Coach Jorge Sampaoli felt Sevilla needed a big win against a top opponent to establish itself as a true contender in Spain.

He got just that yesterday as his team defeated previously unbeaten Atletico Madrid 1-0 to reach the top of the Spanish league, at least for a few hours.

French midfielder Steven N’Zonzi netted the winner in the 73rd minute at a packed Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium to give the hosts their third straight win. It was the team’s sixth straight win at home this season.

Diego Simeone’s team played with 10 men from the 77th on Sunday because of a second yellow card shown to midfielder Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion.

Sampaoli made key adjustments at halftime, allowing his team to take control of the game and earn the hard-fought victory under pouring rain in Seville.

N’Zonzi scored the winner on a fast breakaway, speeding past two defenders after receiving a great throughball from striker Luciano

Yesterday Celta Vigo-Dep. La Coruna ............... 4 1 Sevilla-Atl. Madrid ........................... 1-0 Malaga-Leganes .............................. 4-0 Villarreal-Las Palmas ....................... 2-1 Real Madrid-Ath Bilbao ................... 2-1

Standings

Real Madrid Sevilla Barcelona Villarreal Atl. Madrid Ath Bilbao Real Sociedad Celta Vigo Las Palmas Malaga Eibar Betis Alaves Leganes Valencia Espanyol Dep. La Coruna Gijon Osasuna Granada CF 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 1 2 2 1 0 3 2 1 4 3 0 1 1 3 3 3 2 4 1 0 5 2 2 3 3 0 24 9 21 1 17 12 20 2 29 12 19 0 16 5 19 1 21 4 18 4 14 12 15 4 14 12 13 4 13 17 13 3 17 15 12 3 12 10 12 3 14 13 12 4 11 19 11 3 911 10 5 917 10 6 13 18 9 3 12 17 8 5 6 14 8 5 7 18 8 5 11 19 6 6 8 23 3

Vietto. The Frenchman entered the area and calmly sent a low shot into the far corner as Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak charged from the net.