A solitary Alecsandro strike was enough to give Vanderlei Luxemburgo a winning start on his return to the Flamengo bench.
The forward, who now has four goals in eleven appearances this season, netted after 33 minutes to secure a 1-0 victory over city rivals Botafogo.
The win moves Flamengo up to 18th and was their first since May 4, when they defeated Palmeiras 4-2.
Level on ten points with the Rubro-Negro are Coritiba. Celso Roth’s side secured a dramatic 3-2 win at Grêmio, with veteran Alex netting decisively in stoppage time.
At the other end of the table, Cruzeiro’s lead at the top is still at five points after a 5-0 thumping of Figueirense. Ricardo Goulart – the Brasileirão’s top scorer – and Marquinhos netted the pick of the goals.
Corinthians remain in 2nd following a 2-0 win over Palmeiras, while Fluminense’s 3-0 victory at Atlético Paranaense keeps them 3rd. The Time de Guerreiros are level on 22 points with Internacional who, aided by an error from goalkeeper Marcelo Lomba, beat Bahia 1-0.
Elsewhere, Kaká netted on his São Paulo return – a 2-1 loss at Goiás – while Vitória climbed out of the bottom four with a 3-1 win at Criciúma and Santos won 3-0 against Chapecoense.
Newly-promoted Sport Recife also kept up their impressive start to the season by beating Atlético Mineiro 2-1. Felipe Azevedo and Durval got the goals.
Round 12 results
Saturday 26th July | ||
Criciúma | 1 – 3 | Vitória |
Serginho Mineiro [90"] | Caio [19", 67"] | |
Ayrton [84"] | ||
Cruzeiro | 5 – 0 | Figueirense |
Lucas Silva [pen 41"] | ||
Marquinhos [47"] | ||
Dedé [50"] | ||
Ricardo Goulart [72"] | ||
Dagoberto [79"] | ||
Santos | 3 – 0 | Chapecoense |
Rildo [13"] | ||
Gabriel [52"] | ||
Diego Cardoso [80"] | ||
Sunday 27th July | ||
Bahia | 0 – 1 | Internacional |
Wellington Silva [66"] | ||
Goiás | 2 – 1 | São Paulo |
Amaral [44"] | Kaká [76"] | |
Bruno Mineiro [48"] | ||
Atlético Paranaense | 0 – 3 | Fluminense |
Jean [17"] | ||
Darío Conca [pen 35"] | ||
Cicero [65"] | ||
Corinthians | 2 – 0 | Palmeiras |
Paolo Guerrero [51"] | ||
Fábio [OG 90+1"] | ||
Sport Recife | 2 – 1 | Atlético Mineiro |
Felipe Azevedo [51"] | Diego Tardelli [pen 85"] | |
Durval [68"] | ||
Grêmio | 2 – 3 | Coritiba |
Hernán Barcos [57", 65"] | Zé Eduardo [49", 73"] | |
Alex [90+4"] | ||
Flamengo | 1 – 0 | Botafogo |
Alecsandro [33"] |
2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A standings