Sevilla slipped up at home for the fourth time in a row as Manolo Jimenez's men fell to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Racing Santander.
Young striker Sergio Canales was the hero for a revitalised Racing, hitting both goals as the Cantabrians secured a fourth win in five games under new coach Miguel Angel Portugal.
But it was another disappointment for Sevilla, who had picked up just two points from their last three home league matches and were unable to get back into this one, despite Ndri Romaric's strike on the hour.
The locals rallied late on, but were unable to find an equaliser and saw their fading championship hopes all but extinguished following another miserable evening.
Sevilla were missing the drive of Didier Zokora in midfield and the menace of Frederic Kanoute up front.
The former Tottenham pair are both in Angola for the African Nations Cup and were much missed by the Andalusians.
Also out was defender Sergio Sanchez, who is currently sidelined after doctors detected a heart problem, and injured Brazil striker Luis Fabiano.
Despite those absences, Sevilla still had - at least on paper - a strong enough side to beat Racing, especially at home.
But on the pitch, things were rather different.
Diego Capel shot wide early on for the home side and Alvaro Negredo also squandered a great opportunity with only keeper Fabio Coltorti to beat as Sevilla began brightly.
After that, though, Racing shocked the locals as they took the lead after 25 minutes.
Canales, with the cool head of a seasoned pro, latched onto Pedro Munitis' excellent pass and clipped an exquisite lob over Andres Palop to open the scoring.
Sevilla could have come straight back into it, but Negredo was guilty of two poor misses at the other end.
And he was made to pay for his profligacy as Racing went two ahead.
This goal was arguably even better than the first as Canales superbly rounded Palop, then sent Renato the wrong way with a clever cut-back before slotting the ball into the net with his left foot.
It was a moment of sheer class and thanks to their young prodigy, the Cantabrians had an unexpected two-goal lead at the break.
Sevilla started strongly after the interval and came close to pulling a goal back 13 minutes into the second period, but Julien Escude's header from Capel's corner rebounded off the post and Racing survived.
Three minutes later, though, Sevilla did score. Ivica Dragutinovic floated a dangerous free-kick into the box and Negredo headed the ball across goal for Romaric to scramble home from close range.
Coltorti, deputising once again for the injured Tono, should have cleared.
But Sevilla were back in it and there was still plenty of time for the Andalusians to turn this game round.
They perhaps should have done, but Coltorti redeemed himself with two fantastic saves from Romaric and Adriano, and was also alert to punch the ball away before Negredo could pounce in the dying seconds.
Sevilla remain provisionally in fifth, but could drop a place tomorrow, while Racing move six points clear of the drop zone following their best result of the season.
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