Gremio falls further off the pace with loss to Coritiba
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Sao Paulo, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) - Gremio dropped 12 points behind leaders Cruzeiro on Sunday after suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat at Coritiba.
The match couldn't have started worse for Gremio as the club went behind 2-0 in the opening three minutes to an own goal from Para and a third-minute tally from Alex.
Julio Cesar stretched the lead to 3-0 in the 34th minute for Coritiba and Geraldo rounded out the scoring in the second half before Para's night got worse when he was sent off in the 66th.
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Gremio was joined on 53 points by Botafogo, which secured a 1-0 win against Atletico Mineiro on Saturday with a 52nd-minute goal from Julio Cesar.
The other match Saturday saw Cruzeiro consolidate its lead at the top of the league with a 5-3 triumph over Criciuma as Dagoberto and Borges scored two goals apiece.
Ponte Preta secured a 2-1 win over Vasco da Gama with a stoppage-time goal from Uendel, Atletico Paranaense was able to claim a 1-1 draw at Bahia despite playing much of the match with 10 men, while Santos and Corinthians played to a 1-1 draw.
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Aloisio notched a hat trick in Sao Paulo's 3-2 win at Internacional with two goals coming from the penalty spot, Flamengo was held to a 0-0 draw at Portuguesa, Juan and William Henrique scored goals in the final 30 minutes to lift Vitoria to a 3-2 comeback win against Fluminense and Goias down Nautico, 2-0, with first-half goals from Welinton Junior and Amaral.