Vasco fail to take top spot

Vasco da Gama missed the chance to take over at the top of the Brazilian Campeonato standings after being held to a goalless draw at home by Corinthians on Sunday. A victory would have sent Vasco a point clear of Atletico Mineiro at the summit, but the result means they remain in second spot. Below them, third-placed Fluminense closed the gap on Vasco to two points with a 2-0 win at Coritiba. The match had looked set to finish in stalemate but the 82nd-minute dismissal of Coritiba defender Ayrton gave Fluminense the upper hand and they took full advantage by scoring twice in the next three minutes, taking the lead through a Fabio Pereira own goal before making it 2-0 60 seconds later through Fred. Gremio, in fourth, also left it late before sealing a 3-1 home win over Bahia with goals from Josef Souza (88) and Marcelo Moreno (90) deciding the contest. Bahia, who had Alessandro sent off in between those two strikes, had earlier netted a 65th-minute equaliser through Leandro Fahel to cancel out Elano's 32nd-minute penalty opener for Gremio. A 79th-minute goal from Ademilson earned Sao Paulo a 1-0 win over Sport Recife while second-half strikes from Patric (59), Henrique (81) and Almeida (90) saw Nautico Recife defeat Santos 3-0. Also, Ponte Preta won 2-1 at Cruzeiro. Marcinho's 48th-minute goal decided the game after Borges' effort on the stroke of half-time for Cruzeiro had equalised Cicinho's 18th-minute opener for Ponte. FIFA