Madrid - Sevilla are the toast of Spanish football on Monday, with the country's media full of praise for their 2-1 defeat of Real Madrid on Sunday. Manolo Jimenez's team are praised not just because of the style of their victory - they tore into Real from the first minute and deserved to win by more goals - but because of its significance.
The memorable win means that La Liga will not be another two-horse race between Real and Barcelona - at least for the time being.
Only once in the past five seasons have Real and Barca not finished as the top two teams. Last season Sevilla finished eight points behind second-placed Real.
Now Sevilla share second place with Real, with 15 points from six games, both of them three points behind leaders Barca.
Sevilla lost their first match of the season 2-0 away to Valencia and it seemed that - with Real and Barca both winning their first five matches for the first time ever - that another two-horse race was on the cards.
However, Sevilla have put together a five-match winning run, thanks to a solid defence in front of veteran keeper Andres Palop - and thanks to a lively attack led by Luis Fabiano.
Sevilla won the UEFA Cup in 2006 and 2007, plus the Spanish King's Cup in 2007. However, they lost their sparkle in the last two seasons, partly because of the heart-attack death of young left-back Antonio Puerta and partly because of the defection of coach Juande Ramos to Tottenham.
Their defeat of Real, the most expensive side in history, is front-page news in most Spanish newspapers on Monday.
According to Madrid sports daily Marca, "Sevilla is the alternative to the big two," while rival daily AS praises the Seville side for their "rebellion".
Catalan daily Sport claims that Sevilla "are better equipped than last season to keep up" with the twin giants, despite having spent only a fraction on new players this summer than the big two did.
Catalan television channel TV-3 pointed out early on Monday that Sevilla "have a stronger squad" than last season, despite having spent little in the transfer market. They single out Monchi, the club's sporting director, for having put together "an excellent squad, at a reasonable price."
The Sevilla players who receive most praise in Monday's papers are goalscorers Jesus Navas and Renato, plus midfielder Didier Zokora and defenders Ivica Dragutinovic and Adriano.
AS and Marca both point out that Real need to improve defensively. They both agree that Manuel Pellegrini's team sorely missed the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and have opened a debate as to whether there exists "Ronaldo-dependency" within the team.
