Sevilla 4 Real Madrid 1Real Madrid's stellar talents were humbled 4-1 by mid-table Sevilla last night, the superstars' paper-thin defence being torn apart by the 14th-placed team.

Real, missing missing key defensive players, found themselves 3-0 down after only 14 minutes and went in at the break 4-0 behind and with their tails firmly between their legs.

Real coach Carlos Queiroz was forced into a defensive reshuffle, with Michel Salgado suspended and the talismanic Roberto Carlos out injured.

The decision to replace the regular fullbacks with Francisco Pavon and Raul Bravo and bring in youngster Ruben to partner Ivan Helguera in the centre looked to be a risky one and Sevilla were soon in total charge.

Ruben headed a cross into the back of Helguera to hand Sevilla their opening goal after four minutes, as the ball rebounded back past Iker Casillas and in.

Three minutes later, Sevilla were two up, with Jose Antonio Reyes sending in a weighted pass for Dario Silva to convert.

Real were at sixes and sevens and it was hardly a surprise when Daniel Alves added the third, lifting the ball over Casillas after an exchange of passes with Antonito.

Queiroz reacted by replacing Ruben with Santiago Solari but Real's fortunes scarcely improved and Francisco Casquero made it 4-0 after Reyes had stolen the ball from Pavon to create the opening.

Real sharpened up their act in the second half but Ronaldo's drilled finish was all they had to show for their efforts as Sevilla held on for victory, although their night was spoiled slightly when Dario Silva was sent off shortly after Guti had departed.

Real's defeat followed a less dramatic setback for Valencia, who went down 2-1 as Rodolfo Bodipo struck twice for Racing.

Those results gave Deportivo full value for their 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad on Saturday, taking the Galicians top of the table with 25 points from 11 matches.

Valencia slipped to second on 23, with Real staying behind them in third on goal difference. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid managed to grind out victories to close up on the leaders.

Barcelona edged past Real Betis 2-1 with goals from Patrick Kluivert and Rafael Marquez, while Atletico claimed their fifth successive league win, 1-0 against Villarreal, with a fine Alvaro Novo strike.

Barcelona's win took them up to fourth on 19 points, ahead of Atletico on goal difference, and after a disappointing start to the season they are now four points behind Real Madrid.

However, Barcelona's Ronaldinho is a major doubt for Brazil's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay after sustaining muscle damage in his right thigh during the game.

Barcelona said the player would have a scan on the injured leg today before deciding whether to join the Brazil squad.