Sao Paulo, Brazil – Corinthians and Vasco da Gama both recorded wins on Sunday to move five points clear at the top of the Campeonato table with four games to play.
Fluminense entered the weekend in third place, just two points off the pace, but sustained a stunning 2-1 defeat to last-place America Mineiro on Saturday, moving America off the bottom of the table and severely denting the title hopes of Fluminense.
Corinthians took advantage on Sunday by getting goals from Ralf and Emerson in the first four minutes, with Paulo Baier pulling a goal back early in the second half for Paranaense.
Vasco kept pace by topping Botafogo 2-0 with Felipe Bastos opening the scoring and Dede doubling the lead after halftime. Vasco had Romulo sent off 13 minutes from time, but still managed to hold onto its lead and remain level with Corinthians on 61 points.
Figueirense moved up the table on Saturday by securing a 2-1 win over Atletico Mineiro as second-half goals from Wellington and Julio Cesar canceled out Werley's first-half strike for Atletico, while Sao Paulo topped Avai 2-0 in Saturday's other match as Luis Fabiano netted two goals in the second half.
Two goals from Bruno Aguiar propelled Santos to a 3-2 win at Ceara, Flamengo was knocked off by Coritiba 2-0, Gremio rallied from two goals down in the second half to claim a 2-2 draw with Palmeiras, Cruzeiro downed Internacional 1-0 on a first-half goal from Ernesto Farias, while Rodrigo Souza's goal in the 10th minute was enough for Bahia to claim a 1-0 victory over Goianiense.
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