Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Cruzeiro scored on either side of halftime on Sunday to earn a 2-0 victory over Brasileiro-leading Fluminense at the Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange.
A penalty from Walter Montillo in the 23rd minute proved to be all Cruzeiro would need to pick up three points, but Elber scored inside the opening minute of the second half to double the advantage.
Fluminense remains top of the Brasileiro with 76 points, holding a nine-point over Gremio with two matches to go.
Cruzeiro has won two straight to improve to 49 points, going level with Santos after its 2-0 defeat of Figueirense on Saturday. Also on Saturday, Vasco da Gama picked up a 2-1 win over Coritiba.
On Sunday, Gremio battled back for a 2-2 draw at Portuguesa, Sport Recife claimed a 2-0 win over Botafogo, Corinthians earned a 2-0 victory over Internacional, Vagner Love scored one minute from time to see Flamengo take a point in a 1-1 draw with Palmeiras, Neto netted the lone goal in Bahia's 1-0 defeat of Ponte Preta, and Ronaldinho scored late in Atletico Mineiro's 2-2 draw with Goianiense.
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