A fifth consecutive victory has placed Mjallby seven points ahead at the top of the table for now, with six Allsvenskan matches in Round 19 scheduled for tomorrow or Monday.
Malmo, on the other hand, have seen their 11-match unbeaten streak in all competitions come to an end, and they missed the opportunity to move into third place, potentially dropping as low as sixth by the end of the round if other results do not favor them.
The timing of the match was not ideal for the hosts, occurring between the two legs of their UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round tie against Copenhagen.
However, there was no sign that their focus was elsewhere when Taha Ali struck a volley towards goal in the opening minute, which Noel Tornqvist managed to deflect. That was the first of several chances for the hosts - the best of which fell to Busanello, but he failed to keep his volley down from close range.
After posing little threat in the first half, Mjallby broke the deadlock five minutes after the interval, doing so with a significant stroke of luck - Herman Johansson's shot from the edge of the area took a massive deflection off Pontus Jansson, misleading Robin Olsen in the MFF goal.
The Hallevik side needed another stroke of fortune for their second goal, which came eight minutes later. Elliot Stroud drifted into the penalty area from the left wing and, despite a tight angle, attempted a shot that caught Olsen off guard, allowing it to slip through his fingers.
Despite two quick setbacks, Malmo continued to push to get back into the match, and their determination paid off with 20 minutes remaining when a well-executed team move led to Daniel Tristan Gudjohnsen holding the ball up inside the box and passing it to Kenan Busuladzic to slot home.
In the final eight minutes, the home side somehow failed to equalize when Stefano Holmquist's header was prevented from crossing the line by a combination of Tornqvist and Axel Noren, before Gudjohnsen failed to convert from just a couple of yards out.
To add insult to injury, Mjallby capitalized on another Malmo mistake to secure the win in added time - a cross from the left seemed to have been cleared, but an underhit backpass by Busuladzic allowed Viktor Gustafson to sneak in and nudge the ball past Olsen.
By the time Mjallby plays again, they will have gone three months without defeat, although Malmo remains the last team to take a point off Anders Torstensson's side in the reverse fixture at the end of June.
In Saturday's other match, Sirius secured a crucial three points away at Halmstad, winning 1-0 and moving within a point of their opponents and three points clear of the relegation zone.
The Uppsala side introduced top scorer Robbie Ure with 18 minutes remaining, and it took the Scotsman just four minutes to make a decisive impact and net his eighth goal of the season.
That was one of only three shots on target in the match, as the hosts failed to do enough to force an equalizer and now find themselves five matches without a win, while it marked a first victory in seven for Sirius.
Follow the rest of Round 19 in the Allsvenskan on Flashscore this weekend.
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