TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sevilla possesses similar points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga standing when they won 2-1 over Villarreal, while champions Atletico Madrid won 1-0 at Getafe on Sunday.
Villarreal thought they had secured three points at the Sanchez Pizjuan, when Luciano Vietto clipped the ball over home goalkeeper Beto in the 79th minute.
However, with the home fans roaring encouragement, Sevilla managed to equalise their position through Denis Suarez in the 88th minute, and Carlos Bacca sealed the win through a penalty with the added time, awarded when Giovani Dos Santos tripped Benoit Tremoulinas.
Sevilla won the Europa League last season and recorded their best start to a La Liga campaign, although it remains to be seen whether they can maintain their form long enough to mount a genuine title challenge.
Last season, Atletico were the first team apart from Real Madrid or Barca to win the league since Valencia in 2004 and Real, the European champions, in its worse performance.
“We didn’t play our best football but the team put in the maximum effort,” Bacca told reporters. “They scored a goal, a good goal, but we never gave up,” added the Colombian.
“Sevilla were very good even if perhaps we lacked a bit of efficiency with the final pass. We are second (on goal difference) but with our feet on the ground.”
With nine matches played, Barcelona, beaten 3-1 from Real in Saturday’s ‘Clasico’, and Sevilla with each have 22 points, with Real in third place with 21 points.
Atletico have collected 20 points in fifth place after a close-range effort from striker Mario Mandzukic, just five minutes before halftime securing victory at Getafe.
The club based in the Madrid suburbs lost defender Alexis due to a red card after an incident with Mandzukic in the 58th minute, one of the hottest incidents during the game.
Valencia also have 20 points in fourth place, on top of Atletico on goal difference, after they celebrated their takeover by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim with a 3-1 win at home to Elche on Saturday.
In another Sunday’s games, Malaga crushed visiting Rayo Vallecano with 4-0 and Espanyol were held to a 0-0 draw at home to promoted Deportivo La Coruna.
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