Cruzeiro claimed the spoils in the opening clash of the Campeonato Mineiro campaign against title rivals Atlético Mineiro as they grabbed a 2-1 victory at the Mineirão.
A Dagoberto strike and a Marcos Rocha own goal were enough to secure all three points as Araújo scored Atlético’s only goal.
Cruzeiro opened the scoring after 22 minutes, Leandro Guerreiro racing onto Ricardo Goulart’s through ball and crossing the ball in for Anselmo only for Marcos Rocha to inadvertently turn into his own net.
The lead didn’t last long as Atlético quickly equalised with Araújo lashing home to make it 1-1 after the ball was loose in the penalty area.
The home side restored their lead after the hour mark as Dagoberto met an Anselmo cross with a bullet header to make it 2-1.
Minutes after taking the lead, Cruzeiro suffered a setback as Guerreiro saw red for a dangerous challenge on Ronaldinho, with the referee showing him his second yellow card of the day.
Nilton very nearly wrapped up the points with a superb solo run, beating three defenders but the goalkeeper was on hand to deny a third goal.
