STOCKHOLM, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Swedish top-flight pacesetters Sirius suffered a setback on Saturday as reigning champions Mjallby put a poor start to the season behind them to come back from 3-0 down to win 4-3.
With just over half the season played, the table-toppers from Uppsala came into the clash undefeated in the league and with a 12-point lead at the top and Otsa Liimata scored twice as Sirius raced into a three-goal lead by the 34th minute.
However, the tide turned quickly in the second half as 18-year-old Olle Lindberg came off the bench at the break and netted his first Allsvenskan goal two minutes later.
After a fairytale title win last season, the 2026 campaign has brought Mjallby crashing back down to earth, and they had not tasted victory in the league at their Strandvallen home ground since beating Halmstad 2-0 on April 27.
Target man Jacob Bergstrom netted twice to pull Mjallby level, and substitute Lindberg made it a day to remember by scoring the winner with a header in the 88th minute.
Sirius threw men forward in a late charge for an equaliser, but having sold Scottish forward Robbie Ure, who scored 15 goals in 15 games this season, to Sevilla this week, they lacked a cutting edge and suffered a first league loss of the campaign.
Pegged back and held to a 4-4 draw by Mjallby when the two sides met in July after a break in the league for the World Cup, the Sirius surge towards what looked to be a sure-fire title win has begun to look less certain in recent weeks.
"It's horrible of us, of course - ultimately it's on me - but all players have to take responsibility now," said Sirius coach Andreas Engelmark.
"We've lost three leads after the summer, and we have to look at what we can do better and have a stronger mentality."
Sirius lead the standings on 42 points after 17 matches in the 30-game season, 12 points ahead of Stockholm side Hammarby, who have a game in hand. Mjallby are 10th on 20 points.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
