Vitor Roque finally opens goalscoring account with Palmeiras

Change of leader in the Brazilian Championship. Palmeiras took over the top of the standings on Sunday with a goal by Vitor Roque, his first in the Sao Paulo team's jersey, and ousted Flamengo, who lost to Cruzeiro, in the context of a seventh matchday of strong criticism of the refereeing.

The former Real Betis and FC Barcelona player was finally able to celebrate a goal with Palmeiras, almost two months after his debut, in his 13th match, which also served to beat Vasco da Gama at the Mane Garrincha in Brasilia. “A feeling of relief,” said a smiling Vitor Roque at the end of the match.

The team coached by Portuguese Abel Ferreira, who in recent hours has moved up the list of candidates to become Brazil's next coach, took advantage of Flamengo's slip-up at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. The team led by Filipe Luis suffered their first defeat in the league against a Cruzeiro side that took the lead through Kaio Jorge.

In Sunday's other game, Santos slipped again and will sleep another week in second-to-last place in the table as Neymar continues to recover from muscle problems.

The black-and-white side collapsed at Gremio, who took three vital points to move away from the relegation zone thanks to a solitary goal by Uruguayan Cristian Olivera in the 77th minute.