Diego Costa saw a penalty saved as Sevilla and Atletico Madrid each failed to capitalise on Barcelona's defeat earlier on Saturday, playing out a 1-1 draw in Diego Simeone's 300th game as a LaLiga coach.
Barca had collapsed at Levante and, with Real Madrid not in action until later in the day, the winner of this clash would top the table.
But Atleti - hailed as "one of the best five teams in the world" by Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui this week - failed to fire for 45 minutes and trailed to Franco Vazquez's header.