Flamengo and Corinthians missed the chance to go clear at the top of the Brazilian Campeonato as they let leads slips to both draw 2-2. Ronaldinho's Flamengo will rue their dropped points more as they were 2-0 up against newly promoted Figueirense thanks to a brace of headers from Deivid. However, the Florianopolis side struck back through Somalia and then Edson to salvage an unlikely point and send the home fans wild. Corinthians remain top of the table by virtue of having won more matches than Flamengo but they too should have won at the weekend. Paulinho gave them the lead against Ceara and despite Osvaldo equalising a few minutes later, Corinthians were 2-1 up at half-time thanks to a superb long-range strike from Alex. They were pegged back again late on when Rudnei scored and Corinthians could not respond with just six minutes remaining.
Sao Paulo could have made it a three-way tie at the top but were also held to a 2-2 draw by Atletico Paranaense. Fransergio and Sao Paulo's Ilsinho exchanged goals in the first-half but Edigar looked to have snatched victory for Atletico with a well-taken goal on 77 minutes. The hosts kept plugging away, however, and they got an equaliser at the death when Rivaldo bundled in a cross at the far post.
Bernardo came off the bench to score the winner as Vasco da Gama beat Palmeiras 1-0 and moved up to fourth in the table. The game looked to be heading for a stalemate until Bernardo curled in a superb free-kick from distance in the 80th minute.
Fluminense's inconsistent form continued as they lost 2-1 to Gremio despite going ahead early on through Fred. The former Lyon striker, who had not played for two matches after fans caught him drinking late on the eve of a match, marked his return with a 24th minute header. However, he was overshadowed by Marquinhos, who levelled on the half hour mark and then won the match 15 minutes later with a brilliant free-kick. Defending champions Fluminense are now ninth in the table and 13 points behind the leaders, albeit with a game in hand.
Cruzeiro halted their four-match losing run in emphatic style as they thrashed Avai 5-0. Fabricio, Anselmo Ramon and Walter Montillo all scored before half-time and Thiago Ribeiro and Jose Ortigoza completed the rout late on.
Atletico Goianiense inflicted more misery on Santos and moved above them in the table as second-half goals from Anselmo and Diogo Campos saw them win 2-0.
Botafogo replaced Palmeiras in fifth spot after staging a superb comeback to beat America Mineiro 4-2 in Rio de Janeiro. Alessandro and Rodriguinho both found the net inside the opening 10 minutes to give America a dream start but Elkesen pulled one back before the break. The hosts then ran riot in the second-half, scoring twice through Alex and once through Antonio Carlos to emerge as victors.
Bill, Rafinha and Leonardo all scored as Coritiba beat Atletico Mineiro 3-0 and Bahia and Internacional both had a player sent off as they drew 1-1. Leandro Damiao fired Inter into the lead in the first-half but Jobson equalised from the penalty spot, with Indio and Bahia's Fabinho both sent off.
