Sao Paulo joins Botafogo atop the standings

Defending champions Sao Paulo defeated America Natal 1-0 on the road this Sunday, and joined Botafogo in the lead of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The new co-leaders benefitted from Botafogo's loss to Cruzeiro (2-3) at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. With these results, both teams are tied at 28 points, with Botafogo having one game in hand.

In Natal, Sao Paulo didn't play well, just well enough to defeat last place America. The locals, despite playing at home, took a very defensive stand and preferred to rely on counterattacks. With goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni saving his team when needed, Sao Paulo managed to score a goal off a corner kick in the first half, with Richarlysson. America pushed forward in the second half, but was still unable to create many opportunities to tie the game.

In Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro and Botafogo scored five times in the second half, after a scoreless opening 45 minutes. Guilherme scored twice and Wagner scored for the locals, with Andre Lima and Renato Silva scoring for Botafogo. Despite the loss, the team from Rio still leads thanks to a better goal differential than Sao Paulo. The win lifted Cruzeiro to fifth place, with 23 points.

In other results, Santos was surprised at home by Nautico, losing 2-1. Third place Gremio missed a great chance to be within one point of the leaders, tying Atletico Paranaense 1-1 at home. Vasco did not waste its home field advantage though, and defeated Goias 4-1 to reach fourth place in the standings.

Internacional had one of its best games of the season, going to Recife and humiliating Sport, 5-1. The two most popular teams in the country, Corinthians and Flamengo, played to a 2-2 tie in Sao Paulo, a result that cost Flamengo's coach Ney Franco his job (the team is still in the relegation zone). Juventude and Palmeiras played a match that lacked many emotions in a cold afternoon in Caxias do Sul, and which ended 1-1. Parana's inconsistent play continued, with a 3-1 home loss to Atletico Mineiro, Atletico's second win in a row and first under new coach Emerson Leao. And Fluminense, still unable to play in Rio due to the Pan American Games, went to Brasilia to host Figueirense, in a game that ended tied 1-1.