AIK saw their three-match Allsvenskan winning run end on Monday night as they were defeated 3-1 by Norrkoping which keeps them only two points clear of the sides chasing third place and the final European spot. Meanwhile, Halmstad gained an important three points in their bid for survival with an away win at bottom side Varnamo.
After Goteborg's loss at the weekend, AIK had the chance to move five points clear of fourth-placed GAIS, but Norrkoping had other ideas, and took the lead with 33 minutes on the clock, when a cross from the right was taken down by Max Watson, who turned and finished well under pressure.
Seven minutes later, the home side doubled their advantage when a ball from the left was chested down by Christoffer Nyman, perfectly into the path of Alexander Fransson, who powered a sweet volley past Kristoffer Nordfeldt.
With a little over a quarter of an hour to play, Norrkoping sealed the victory when a poor clearance was taken down just inside the area by Kevin Jansson, who then expertly drilled the ball into the bottom corner.
The Solna side grabbed a consolation through Dino Besirovic's powerful header, but it wasn't enough to prevent a fifth loss of the campaign, as they remain 14 points behind leader Mjallby with only six matches to play.
A first win in three has done wonders for Norrkoping's survival chances - they move up to 10th and go seven points clear of the bottom three.
Also on Monday night, Halmstad put three points between themselves and the bottom three with a 2-1 win at basement-dwellers Varnamo, who are now 10 points shy of the relegation playoff place.
Midway through the first half, the home side had real hope when Ajdin Zeljkovic took aim from 20 yards and picked out the bottom corner of the HBK net to score his fourth league goal of the season.
Despite Varnamo's lack of points, only one of Zeljkovic's previous three strikes came in a defeat. However, that game was the reverse fixture, and once again Halmstad would have the last laugh.
They equalised early in the second half when Naeem Mohammed chased a long ball over the top, waited for support to arrive and dug out a cross which found Villiam Granath, who lashed it into the roof of the net.
Just before the hour mark, the turnaround was complete and the hosts' misery compounded when Victor Larsson completely misjudged Pascal Gregor's cross and headed it past his own goalkeeper.
That extended Varnamo's losing run to four matches, while Halmstad have picked up seven points from their last four.
