Gremio advances to second in Brazilian championship

Gremio got goals from Tuta and Carlos Eduardo to beat Nautico 2-0 and climb into second place in the Brazilian first-division championship on Wednesday.

Nautico, which advanced from the second division this season, was superior to the two-time Brazilian champions and repeatedly rattled the posts with their shots but couldn't find the net.

The victory left Gremio, champion in 1981 and 1996, with 24 points, one behind leader Botafogo, which was idle.

Teenage striker Alexandre Pato, a star of the Brazil Under-20s, scored from the top of the penalty area to give Internacional a 1-0 victory over Parana. The loss left Parana with 22 points and prevented the team from advancing into a tie for the division lead with Botafogo, which has 25.

Nene scored on a header in injury time to salvage a 2-2 draw for Cruzeiro against Atletico Paranaense. The draw moved Cruzeiro into seventh place in the standings.

Atletico drew first blood on a tap-in by Gustavo in the 21st minute but two minutes later Araujo shook his defender and evened the score on a header. Cruzeiro controlled the game, but Atletico struck again on a header by Pedro Oloni that barely dribbled across the goal line.

When Atletico fans were celebrating the apparent victory, Nene made it 2-2.

Goias climbed back into the race with a 1-0 victory over Santos. Welliton finished a cross from Paulo Baier in the 69th to give Goias the win and 23 points, two behind Botafogo.

Marcos Aurelio missed a penalty kick for Santos, shooting wide what would have been the tying goal.

Palmeiras pulled off a stunning upset, coming from two goals down and playing with 10 men to beat Vasco 3-2 and advance to sixth place.

Rubens Junior and Leandro Amaral scored early for Vasco, and Palmeiras defender Makelele was expelled. But the "Big Green" rebounded with goals from Valdivia and Nen to make it 2-2, and Luiz Henrique scored the game-winner from the top of the penalty area with four minutes remaining.

Flamengo got goals from Ronaldo Angelim, Jailton and Obina to defeat America 3-1 and climb out of the cellar, although the club remains in the relegation zone in 18th place. Carlos Eduardo narrowed the gap for America.

The victory was the first in eight games and more than two months for Flamengo and marked the return of striker Obina, who was sidelined for four months recovering from knee surgery.

Corinthians drew Figueirense 2-2 to advance to 15 points and emerge from the relegation zone.

Edson opened the scoring for Corinthians with a shot that hit the crossbar and deflected in, but Jean Carlos tied it for Figueirense. Clodoaldo put Corinthians up again but Felipe Santana deadlocked it at 2-2 after 67 minutes.

The 14th round concludes on Thursday when Botafogo plays Juventude, Sao Paulo meets Sport, and Atletico Mineiro faces Fluminense.