Sevilla were under pressure after Valencia beat promoted Real Zaragoza 3-1 earlier on Sunday to climb above the Andalusians but Mali striker Kanoute rose unmarked to nod in Adriano Correia's cross for a 66th-minute winner.
Valencia striker David Villa netted his eighth of the season against Zaragoza to move clear in the scoring charts ahead of Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on seven.
Real went 3-0 up at struggling city rivals Atletico and just managed to hold on for a 3-2 victory despite having Sergio Ramos sent off midway through the second half.
COOL FINISH
The 36-year-old French midfielder ran on to Bruno's chipped return ball and volleyed superbly past Andres Palop.
In Valencia, Villa's Spain team mates Juan Mata and David Silva combined to put the home side ahead after 17 minutes at the Mestalla when Silva's pass sent Mata clear and he finished coolly past Javier Lopez Vallejo.
Zaragoza's Colombian midfielder Abel Aguilar grabbed a consolation for the mid-table side with 25 minutes remaining.
In Sunday's earlier matches, Athletic Bilbao won 2-0 at Racing Santander and Sporting Gijon beat visiting Espanyol 1-0 thanks to a third-minute goal from Croatia striker Mate Bilic.
Osasuna, who held Barca to a 1-1 draw last weekend, lost 2-0 at Hugo Sanchez's Almeria and Xerez climbed back off the bottom above Malaga with a 0-0 draw at Real Valladolid.
