Gremio bounce back to beat rivals Inter in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 25 (Reuters) Gremio, beaten by Boca Juniors in the Libertadores Cup final last Wednesday, bounced back in style with a 2-0 win away to arch-rivals Internacional yesterday.

Gremio went ahead after only seven minutes of the Porto Alegre derby when midfielder Lucio pounced on a poor clearance by Internacional goalkeeper Clemer, sped past two defenders and scored with an angled shot.

Internacional had a shot cleared off the line in the second half before Diego Souza scored Gremio's second on the counter-attack in the 65th minute.

Both teams stayed in the bottom half of the Brazilian championship with Gremio 12th and Internacional 15th.

Cruzeiro beat Atletico Mineiro 4-2 as the Belo Horizonte derby produced the most dramatic match of the weekend.

Two goals from striker Araujo put Cruzeiro 2-0 ahead at halftime but Atletico hit back after the break as Lima and Eder Luis scored in a ten-minute spell.

Atletico were awarded a controversial penalty in the 71st minute but Marcinho's shot was saved by Cruzeiro goalkeeper Gatti. The Foxes took full advantage as Guilherme and Ramires scored in the last 15 minutes.

Champions Sao Paulo moved up to third with a 2-0 win at arch-rivals Santos, Aloisio and Dagoberto scoring in the first half.

Santos defender Adailton and Sao Paulo striker Hugo were both sent off.

Santos remained a modest 16th in the 20-team table.

Botafogo, who did not play, stayed top with 17 points from seven games and Parana's 1-0 win over Sport Recife took them into second place, three points behind.

Reuters BJR DB1319