Kaka helps Sao Paulo down Vitoria

Sao Paulo, Brazil (SportsNetwork.com) - Sao Paulo remained within six points of leaders Cruzeiro thanks to a 77th-minute goal from Kaka, which lifted Sao Paulo to a 2-1 win at Vitoria.

Luis Fabiano was responsible for putting Sao Paulo into the lead in the 14th minute when he got on the other end of a free kick from Osvaldo to head his side in front.

The hosts responded in the 56th with a long-range effort from Kadu that found the top left corner of the net to level the contest at 1-1.

However, Kaka found space in the middle of the penalty area to collect a ball from Fabiano and fire home a right-footed shot to hand his side all three points.

Sao Paulo remains four points clear of a trio of teams in third place, while Vitoria is one point above the bottom three.

Cruzeiro maintained its place atop the league by scoring three times in the second half to notch a 3-1 win over Criciuma, which took the lead three minutes into the game through Lucca.

However, Cruzeiro scored three times over the final 30 minutes with goals from Marcelo Moreno, Ricardo Goulart and Willian.

Atletico Mineiro won 2-0 at Palmeiras behind goals from Tiago Pagnussat and Dodo, Diederrick Joel's goal on the stroke of halftime was enough to lead Coritiba to a 1-0 win over Fluminense and Cleo scored a goal in each half as Atletico PR toppled Botafogo, 2-0.

Alan Ruiz scored a second-half brace to help Gremio to a 4-1 win over Internacional, Figueirense edged Chapecoense, 1-0, thanks to a second-half goal from Marcao, Sport Recife scored twice in the final two minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw against Flamengo, which led 2-0 after 25 minutes thanks to goals from Marcio Araujo and Nixon, Corinthians held off Santos, 1-0, after Jose Paolo Guerrero's goal in the seventh minute, while Erik's two-goal outing led Goias to a 3-0 win over Bahia.