Palmeiras beat Corinthians, rise to second in Brazil's Serie A

Eight-time champions Palmeiras jumped to second spot in Brazil's Serie A standings after a 1-0 home victory over local rivals Corinthians.

Midfielder Cleiton Xavier struck the winner with a header three minutes into the second half at Allianz Parque here on Sunday, reports Xinhua.

The victory catapulted Palmeiras to within a point of league leaders International with 15 points from seven matches.

Meanwhile, a goal from former Brazil international striker Fred on his debut for Atletico Mineiro was not enough for the Belo Horizonte outfit to overcome cross-city rivals Cruzeiro and eventually lost the match 3-2.

In a fractious encounter at Estadio Independencia stadium, Cruzeiro ended the match with just eight players after Bryan, Lucas and Lucas Romero were sent off. Marcos Rocha was also shown a red card for Atletico Mineiro.

Alisson, Duvier Riascos and Bruno Rodrigo were on target for Cruzeiro while Rafael Carioca was Atletico's other scorer.

The result left Atletico Mineiro in 16th place and lifted Cruzeiro to 15th in the 20-team standings.

In other matches on Sunday, Vitoria drew 1-1 at Botafogo, Coritiba overcame Sport Recife 3-2, Figueirense defeated Flamengo 1-0 and Santos won 2-0 at Santa Cruz.

--IANS

sam/vt