Sao Paulo derby drawn, amid directors' box scuffle

Palmeiras drew 3-3 with league leaders Corinthians in a thrilling tie played in front of a 36,000 crowd at Palmeiras' Allianz Parque.

The home side took the lead on three occasions but Corinthians pegged them back each time and when an overzealous Corinthians fan celebrated his team's second goal in a nearby executive box, Palmeiras president Paulo Nobre took offense, the globoesporte web site said.

The two men almost came to blows before security guards stepped in and Nobre departed to the dressing rooms to watch the remainder of the game, according to other reports.

The result left Palmeiras in seventh-place in Serie A while Corinthians remain top although their advantage was cut to five points over Atletico Mineiro who beat Vasco da Gama 2-1 on Saturday.

"It was a draw that tastes like defeat," Palmeiras keeper Fernando Prass said. "Corinthians are above us in the table so we have to get results and add points to cut the gap. The result was worse for us."

Third-place Gremio also won, 2-1 over Goias, to set themselves up for a crunch tie against Corinthians on Wednesday.

In the big Rio de Janeiro derby, Flamengo beat Fluminense 3-1 to record their fourth successive league win.

Fourth-place Sao Paulo beat Internacional 2-0 on Saturday, while Sport and Santos shared the points in a 1-1 draw.

Cruzeiro's new coach Mano Menezes got off to a perfect start as Willian scored four of his side's goals in their 5-1 victory over Figueirense.