There was an air of quiet optimism inside the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan prior to the kick-off of Sevilla's clash with Real Valladolid.
It wasn't their classic hit, 'We Are The Champions', Sevilla know there is a long way to go, but as Queen blared over the speakers, you couldn't help feel an excitement amongst the home supporters with the prospect of sitting top of La Liga just ninety minutes away.
They knew this wouldn't be a walkover, however. Despite earning promotion through the Segunda playoffs last season, Real Valladolid - who were purchased by Brazil legend Ronaldo in September this year - have enjoyed a fine start to the season, having won four and drawn five from 12 games. And they showed early on that it would not be a walk in the park for the hosts, who dominated possession in the opening stages but failed time and time again with their final pass.
That was until the 30th minute mark, when Andre Silva scored from within the six-yard box after some splendid work from Pablo Sarabia. The attacking midfielder, who has been involved in 18 goals this season, more than any other Spaniard across Europe's top five leagues, skinned the Valladolid defender and managed to chip a perfect cross to the unmarked Silva at the back-post, who duly headed off the post and into the back of the net.
Sevilla may have had their lead at half-time but they certainly didn't look interested in maintaining it after the restart. Pablo Machin's midfield looked sluggish, leaving wide gaps for the Valladolid counter-attack. However, the back three of Simon Kjaer, Daniel Carrico and Sergi Gomez were excellent, managing to win multiple one-on-one battles.
The visitors thought they had their equaliser after 60 minutes when Borja volleyed home from a corner, but the linesman had his flag raised for offside. This seemed to have a positive effect on Sevilla, who suddenly became rampant in attack. First it was Wissam Ben Yedder who should have doubled the advantage, however the Frenchman overran Sergio Escudero's cross. There would be more chances for Los Rojiblancos than items on a Christmas shopping list, and as it happens so often in football, there was a feeling they would be punished for their wastefulness.
And to Valladolid's credit, they almost found an equaliser twice towards the end of the match. Sergio Gonalez's side had another goal disallowed due to offside after 75 minutes; then substitute Enes Unal forced a fantastic save from Tomas Vaclik in the dying stages.
They may have forced a few hairs to be lost from their supporters, but Sevilla managed to hold on to claim all three points against a gallant Valladolid outfit. They will now enter the festive month with extra cheer as they sit perched atop of the La Liga table.
