Campeonato Paulista wrap: Palmeiras reclaims top spot

Palmeiras moved back to the top of the Campeonato Paulista table with a 1-0 home victory over Americana on Saturday.

The match at the Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho was highly anticipated, with two of the top-three sides on the table in action.

But Palmeiras proved why they are considered one of the favourites to win the title, leapfrogging Santos into first despite the latter’s 2-0 win on Friday.

After the first half yielded no goals, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side came out firing in the second half and snared the all-important goal when striker Kleber produced a 54th-minute finish.

Neither could find the back of the net for the remainder of the match, giving Palmeiras a valuable three points.

In other matches, Botafogo SP condemned relegation-threatened Santo Andre 2-0 to defeat in Sao Paulo, with first-half goals from Augusto Fassina and Anselmo ensuring they gained all three points.

Gremio Prudente climbed off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 away win at Linense, who are also in the bottom four.

Saldanha scored the game’s only goal after 30 minutes – his third in two games – to lift Gremio Prudente above Sao Bernardo and into 19th on the table.