Cruzeiro surrendered a lead twice as it shared the spoils at Fluminense
in Brazilian Serie A, while Sao Paulo extended its winning run.League leader Cruzeiro was held to a 3-3 draw, despite a
first-half brace from Julio Baptista, after 18-year-old substitute
Kenedy equalised for Fluminense with two minutes remaining in Rio de
Janeiro on Monday (AEST).Cruzeiro - 11 games unbeaten in a span stretching back to 28 May - remains top of the table with 43 points from 19 matches.Fluminense is 12 points off the pace in fifth spot. With the competition's leading goalscorer Ricardo Goulart and
midfielder Everton Ribeiro away on international duty with Brazil in the
United States, former Real Madrid and Arsenal forward Baptista was
promoted to Marcelo Oliveira's starting XI. He made an instant impact at the iconic Maracana, converting a
14th-minute penalty after Paraguayan Miguel Samudio - on loan from
Libertad - was fouled in the area.
Cruzeiro's lead lasted three minutes as host Fluminense hit back courtesy of Wagner's header on the goal line. Fluminense was ahead six minutes later after an unmarked Dario Conca
drove into the penalty area and found Cicero, who guided the ball
through Fabio's fingers. Baptista was at it again on the stroke of half-time as he restored
parity for Cruzeiro, bundling an attempted volley into the bottom corner
of the net. Cruzeiro's Bolivian star Marcelo Moreno scored in his sixth
consecutive game - making it eight goals in the process - after
volleying the ball past Fluminense goalkeeper Klever in the 58th minute. But Fluminense salvaged a point two minutes from time thanks to Kenedy's curled effort from the edge of the box. In-form Sao Paulo closed to within seven points of Cruzeiro following its 2-0 win over Sport Recife on Monday (AEST). A seventh-minute own goal from Rithiely and Alexandre Pato's
26th-minute strike saw Sao Paulo make it seven league games without
defeat. Sao Paulo climbed up to second in the standings after Internacional
crashed to a third defeat in four games, losing 3-2 at home to
Figueirense. Internacional cruised to the half-time break with a 2-0 lead thanks
to Andres D'Alessandro's 18th-minute penalty and Paulao's thunderous
effort from inside the penalty arc after 35 minutes.
But it was all one-way traffic in the second-half as Figueirense
netted three unanswered goals through substitute Everaldo, Marco Antonio
and Giovanni Augusto, who scored from a corner. In other results, Gremio responded to its expulsion from the Copa do Brasil with a 1-0 win at Flamengo on Sunday (AEST).
Gremio was banned from this year's competition after its fans' racial slurs against Santos. But Luan's 90th-minute goal gave Luiz Felipe Scolari's men victory,
while Flamengo lost for the first time in five league matches. David Braz scored twice in the absence of Robinho, who was called into the Brazil squad, as Santos accounted for Vitoria 3-1. Atletico Mineiro overcame 10-man Botafogo 1-0 thanks to Leonardo Silva. Corinthians was held to a goalless draw at Criciuma, while Bahia and Coritiba played out the same result. Meanwhile, Palmeiras earned a 1-1 draw at Atletico PR.
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