Vasco da Gama overtake Corinthians at the top of the Brazilian championship.
Vasco da Gama took advantage of Corinthians' slip-up against Internacional, with a win over Bahia that allowed them to leap into first-place of the Brazilian championship after 31 Rounds. Vasco, with 57 points from 31 matches, are on course for their first Brazilian championship since the year 2000, and their fifth in total.
Corinthians, with 55 points, failed to capture the three points against Internacional in Porto Alegre, but they should be satisfied with the result because they managed to grab a point with a late goal.
Meanwhile, the trailing pack comprised of Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Sao Paulo, all failed to gain maximum points, meaning the championship could well become a two-horse race between Vasco and Corinthians.
Fluminense missed out on a good opportunity to join the chasing pack as the Brasileiro reaches its final rounds, with a 2-0 home defeat to Atletico Mineiro at the Engenhao stadium on Saturday. The loss means Fluminense remain in fifth-place with 50 points, seven points behind league leaders Vasco da Gama.
Daniel Carvalho put the 'Galo' ahead in the 10th minute via the penalty spot, while Andre scored their second on the stroke of half-time, after heading home a right-wing cross from Carvalho.
Fluminense were without key players Fred, Deco and Rafael Moura, and their absences were clearly noticeable, as they lacked firepower in their attack.
With the win, Atletico Mineiro climbed out of the relegation zone, however, they still find themselves one point behind arch-rivals Cruzeiro, who beat Atletico-GO 3-2.
Vasco da Gama jumped into first position of the table win their 2-0 victory over Bahia at the Pituacu stadium on Sunday. Vasco overtook Corinthians at the top, after Corinthians could only afford a 1-1 draw with Internacional at the Beira-Rio stadium.
Vasco, first with 57 points from 31 games, won the match courtesy of goals from Felipe and Diego Souza, in the 23rd and 90th minute, respectively.
By winning the match Vasco put an end to three negative statistics. Not only was it the first time they won in Salvador in twenty years (the last time was when they beat Vitoria in 1991), and not only was it Vasco's first win against Bahia since the year 2000, but it was also the first time that a team from Rio had beaten Bahia this season.
Next week Vasco will look to consolidate their position at the top of the table when they entertain Sao Paulo at the Sao Januario stadium in the 32nd round of the Brasileiro.
With a goal scored by former Internacional attacker Alex right at the conclusion of the match, Corinthians rescued a 1-1 draw with Internacional at the Beira-Rio stadium on Sunday. Despite the point gained, Corinthians, now with 55 points, were overtaken at the top of the table by Vasco, who beat Bahia to reach 57 points.
After a first-half that lacked goal-scoring opportunities, apart from an effort from Jo that was saved with the feet of Julio Cesar, the second half was very exciting as both sides pushed to the attack in an attempt to score a goal.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 66th minute, when Nei headed home a cross from Kleber to the joy of the vocal 37,000 crowd. However, Alex rescued Corinthians a vital point with only two minutes left on the clock, when he fired in a free-kick.
Both teams had a player each sent-off, Alessandro for Corinthians and Andres D'Alessandro for Inter.
Copa Libertadores winners Santos fought out a 1-1 draw with Flamengo in a controversial clash played in Rio de Janeiro. Neymar put the visitors ahead in the 49th minute, when he beat Felipe with a well-struck penalty kick. However, Deivid snatched Flamengo a point when he nodded in a Junior Cesar cross from the left-wing in the 77th minute.
The match was marked by controversy, as what seemed like two legitimate goals, one for each team, were disallowed. While Santos should have been awarded a second penalty kick when Neymar was clearly impeded in the area.
Flamengo, who were without the suspended Ronaldinho, will be disappointed with the result, as a win would have seen them climb into third-place instead of fourth. Meanwhile, Santos went up three places into tenth-place, a high position considering that they were in the bottom-end of the table for great part of the season.
Brazilian Championship: Round 31 Results
October 22
America 2 - 2 Gremio
Avai FC 3 - 2 Botafogo
Fluminense 0 - 2 Atletico Mineiro
Palmeiras 1 - 2 Figueirense
October 23
Atletico Paranaense 1 - 0 Ceara
Bahia 0 - 2 Vasco
Internacional 1 - 1 Corinthians
Sao Paulo 0 - 0 Coritiba
Cruzeiro 3 - 2 Atletico GO
Flamengo 1 - 1 Santos
Corinthians, with 55 points, failed to capture the three points against Internacional in Porto Alegre, but they should be satisfied with the result because they managed to grab a point with a late goal.
Meanwhile, the trailing pack comprised of Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Sao Paulo, all failed to gain maximum points, meaning the championship could well become a two-horse race between Vasco and Corinthians.
Fluminense missed out on a good opportunity to join the chasing pack as the Brasileiro reaches its final rounds, with a 2-0 home defeat to Atletico Mineiro at the Engenhao stadium on Saturday. The loss means Fluminense remain in fifth-place with 50 points, seven points behind league leaders Vasco da Gama.
Daniel Carvalho put the 'Galo' ahead in the 10th minute via the penalty spot, while Andre scored their second on the stroke of half-time, after heading home a right-wing cross from Carvalho.
Fluminense were without key players Fred, Deco and Rafael Moura, and their absences were clearly noticeable, as they lacked firepower in their attack.
With the win, Atletico Mineiro climbed out of the relegation zone, however, they still find themselves one point behind arch-rivals Cruzeiro, who beat Atletico-GO 3-2.
Vasco da Gama jumped into first position of the table win their 2-0 victory over Bahia at the Pituacu stadium on Sunday. Vasco overtook Corinthians at the top, after Corinthians could only afford a 1-1 draw with Internacional at the Beira-Rio stadium.
Vasco, first with 57 points from 31 games, won the match courtesy of goals from Felipe and Diego Souza, in the 23rd and 90th minute, respectively.
By winning the match Vasco put an end to three negative statistics. Not only was it the first time they won in Salvador in twenty years (the last time was when they beat Vitoria in 1991), and not only was it Vasco's first win against Bahia since the year 2000, but it was also the first time that a team from Rio had beaten Bahia this season.
Next week Vasco will look to consolidate their position at the top of the table when they entertain Sao Paulo at the Sao Januario stadium in the 32nd round of the Brasileiro.
With a goal scored by former Internacional attacker Alex right at the conclusion of the match, Corinthians rescued a 1-1 draw with Internacional at the Beira-Rio stadium on Sunday. Despite the point gained, Corinthians, now with 55 points, were overtaken at the top of the table by Vasco, who beat Bahia to reach 57 points.
After a first-half that lacked goal-scoring opportunities, apart from an effort from Jo that was saved with the feet of Julio Cesar, the second half was very exciting as both sides pushed to the attack in an attempt to score a goal.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 66th minute, when Nei headed home a cross from Kleber to the joy of the vocal 37,000 crowd. However, Alex rescued Corinthians a vital point with only two minutes left on the clock, when he fired in a free-kick.
Both teams had a player each sent-off, Alessandro for Corinthians and Andres D'Alessandro for Inter.
Copa Libertadores winners Santos fought out a 1-1 draw with Flamengo in a controversial clash played in Rio de Janeiro. Neymar put the visitors ahead in the 49th minute, when he beat Felipe with a well-struck penalty kick. However, Deivid snatched Flamengo a point when he nodded in a Junior Cesar cross from the left-wing in the 77th minute.
The match was marked by controversy, as what seemed like two legitimate goals, one for each team, were disallowed. While Santos should have been awarded a second penalty kick when Neymar was clearly impeded in the area.
Flamengo, who were without the suspended Ronaldinho, will be disappointed with the result, as a win would have seen them climb into third-place instead of fourth. Meanwhile, Santos went up three places into tenth-place, a high position considering that they were in the bottom-end of the table for great part of the season.
Brazilian Championship: Round 31 Results
October 22
America 2 - 2 Gremio
Avai FC 3 - 2 Botafogo
Fluminense 0 - 2 Atletico Mineiro
Palmeiras 1 - 2 Figueirense
October 23
Atletico Paranaense 1 - 0 Ceara
Bahia 0 - 2 Vasco
Internacional 1 - 1 Corinthians
Sao Paulo 0 - 0 Coritiba
Cruzeiro 3 - 2 Atletico GO
Flamengo 1 - 1 Santos
