Sao Paulo increases lead

Defending champions Sao Paulo increased the lead atop the Brazilian Serie A soccer league after a scoreless draw with Atletico Mineiro on the road on Wednesday. The leaders are now nine points clear of second place Cruzeiro, which lost 1-0 to Juventude on the road. Sao Paulo reached 51 points in 24 games, while Cruzeiro has 42 in 23 matches.

In a game with few goal chances created by both sides, the visitors were happy to leave with a point, after goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni defended a penalty kick taken by Coelho in the 90th minute. Before that, Sao Paulo had hit the post and crossbar during the game, but failed to create much else against a well-positioned Atletico.

Third place Vasco fell to Gremio 3-1 in Porto Alegre, being overtaken by Santos in the standings. Santos now has the same 39 points as Vasco, but with one more victory, after beating Internacional 2-1. In other games, Corinthians had a hard time beating America Natal at home, 1-0, while Goias was beaten at home by Atletico Paranaense, 3-2. Finally, Flamengo got out of the relegation zone thanks to a 4-1 victory over Figueirense at the Maracana Stadium.

Three matches complete the 24th round on Thursday. Botafogo hosts Palmeiras, Parana plays Nautico at home and Fluminense goes to Recife to face Sport.