Argentinian defender Gabriel Mercado was the hero for Sevilla as they secured a 1-0 win over city rivals Real Betis on a night of controversy at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
The summer signing from River Plate decided a frenetic and often overly physical encounter when he deflected home a Samir Nasri free kick in the 51st minute.
It took Sevilla up to second in La Liga as they continued an encouraging start to life under Jorge Sampaoli with three wins and two draws from their first five matches.
Malaga secured their first win of the season as they came from a goal down to beat Eibar 2-1 at La Rosaleda.
Juande Ramos' men had two points from their opening four La Liga games and when Nano put Eibar in front three minutes before half-time, the writing was on the wall.
But a great turn and shot from Sandro Ramirez drew Malaga level before the break and 19-year-old Moroccan substitute Youssef En Nesyri curled in a spectacular second with just under 15 minutes left.