Sevilla have climbed into the top half of the La Liga table after two red cards for Valencia helped the hosts earn a 1-0 victory at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pijuan.
Joao Cancelo's dismissal in the first half proved to be key as Sevilla took the lead with a goal from debutant Sergio Escudero, before Javi Fuego picked up his red card late on to ensure it was a comfortable finish for the home side.
Sevilla dominated possession for long spells of the first half, but with clear opportunities difficult to come by, Valencia almost capitalised against the run of play when Timothee Kolodziejczak was forced to make a crucial tackle on Paco Alcacer after a mistake from Ever Banega.
Matthew Ryan came to the rescue at the opposite end with a fine save to keep out Fernando Llorente, who was given too much space to meet a corner with a powerful header.
The crucial moment arrived 10 minutes before the break as Cancelo made a foolish tackle on Banega in midfield to pick up his second booking of the night.
Sevilla capitalised early in the second half when Banega used the space on offer to deliver an inch-perfect pass for Escudero to volley home on the stretch at the back post.
Appeals for a penalty followed a few minutes later when Gregorz Krychowiak's header struck the hand of Fuego, but the referee ignored the protests from Sevilla.
The game should have been wrapped up when Yevhen Konoplyanka led a counter-attack before picking out Steven N'Zonzi, who could only send his volley over after bringing the ball down in the box.
Valencia's hopes of finding an equaliser late on were dealt a blow when Fuego followed Cancelo by being dismissed after a late tackle on Krychowiak earned him a second yellow card.
Sevilla were unable to add gloss to the scoreline in the closing stages, but the win never looked in doubt as the hosts bounced back from defeats to Real Sociead and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Callum Mulvihill
