Ronaldo continued his outstanding form by scoring a goal in Corinthians'
2-1 victory over his former club Cruzeiro at the Mineirao stadium in
Belo Horizonte on Sunday.
Having began his career at Cruzeiro sixteen years ago, Ronaldo was
honoured by the club before the Brazilian league match.
Ronaldo, 32, was very lively during the game and he set up Corinthians'
first goal with an exquisite through ball to Jorge Henrique that allowed
the player to round the goalkeeper before slotting home.
Five minutes later, Ronaldo had a great opportunity to double Cruzeiro's
lead when Corinthians were awarded a penalty, when his powerful
goal-bound effort was cleared off the line by the hands of Leonardo
Silva.
The confident veteran stepped up to the ball without a run-up and his
weak effort was saved by Cruzeiro goalkeeper Fabio.
But Ronaldo redeemed himself late in the second half, when he fired the
ball home after excellent work from midfielder Jucilei. It was Ronaldo's
sixth goal in two weeks.
Kleber pulled a goal back for Cruzeiro five minutes from full-time when
he blasted in a penalty kick.
With the win, Corinthians climbed into fifth place in the league
standings with 20 points.
In the traditional Gre-Nal derby, Gremio came from behind to defeat
arch-rivals Internacional 2-1 for their first victory in the fixture in
seven attempts.
Inter went ahead with a strike from Nilmar in the first half, but Souza
drew Gremio level with a trademark free-kick moments later. Argentine
striker Maxi Lopez earned Gremio the three points with a powerful header
in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Rio de Janeiro derby between Flamengo and Botafogo ended
in a 2-2 draw. Former Inter Milan striker Adriano scored one of
Flamengo's goals.
Atletico Mineiro retained the championship lead despite a goalless draw
with Vitoria in Salvador. Palmeiras follow them in second place, after
beating Santo Andre 1-0 on Saturday.
In other matches, Sao Paulo edged Santos 2-1, Barueri thrashed Nautico
4-0 and the derby between Atletico Paranaense and Coritiba ended
goalless.
Campeonato Brasileiro: Round 12 Results
July 18 (Saturday)
Fluminense 1 - 4 Goias
Palmeiras 1 - 0 Santo Andre
July 19 (Sunday)
Atletico Paranaense 0 - 0 Coritiba
Cruzeiro 1 - 2 Corinthians
Gremio 2 - 1 Internacional
Sao Paulo 2 - 1 Santos
Vitoria 0 - 0 Atletico Mineiro
Barueri 4 - 0 Nautico
Flamengo 2 - 2 Botafogo
Sport Recife 1 - 3 Avai |