Paulista Giants Continue to Set Early Pace; Dragão Thrash Woeful Ceará

A slightly shortened round-up this week, readers, as 'real life' rears its ugly head in SKP's schedule. The fourth round of the Brasileirão took place over the weekend, with clubs from Brazil's largest city maintaining their impressive early season form...

Brasileirão Gameweek 4 Round-up
São Paulo continue to dominate the early rounds of the Série A season; the Tricolor picked up their fourth win on the trot against Grêmio on Saturday night. Utility man Jean scored the goal of the game at the Morumbi, finishing coolly following Dagoberto's delightful chipped pass. Paulo César Carpegiani - who was actually sacked last month before being hastily reinstated - looks to be finally winning over the fans. Local rivals Corinthians currently occupy second spot in the table, having also picked up a win at the weekend; a brace from Willian was enough to see off a below-par Fluminense.

Jean genius; the São Paulo man celebrates his goal with Lucas.

Avaí and Atlético Paranaense both managed their first points of the season, picking up draws against América-MG and Flamengo respectively. Madson, who was finally included in the Atlético side after significant fan pressure, scored a lovely free-kick in the latter match. At the Pituaçu, an inspired goalkeeping performance from Marcelo Lomba (who, incidentally, was an inspired selection in my Cartola (Brasileirão fantasy football) team) allowed Bahia to claim a 1-1 draw with Atlético Mineiro.

A last minute strike from the in-demand Leandro Damião rescued a point for Internacional in their game against Palmeiras; that one finished 2-2 in Porto Alegre. Santos also struck late to salvage a draw; Borges netted his third in two starts to cancel out Walter Montillo's penalty for Cruzeiro. The Raposa, who still haven't picked up a league win, are in the relegation zone after four matches. Just above them are Coritiba, who followed their Copa do Brasil final loss with a 3-1 defeat to Botafogo. New signing Elkeson was impressive for O Glorioso, scoring one goal and setting up another.

Botafogo new boy Elkeson (right) in action.

Atlético Goianiense, who just avoided relegation last year, continue to surpass expectations; they produced a great performance to overcome Ceará 4-1. Unheralded striker Anselmo was the hero for the Dragão, bagging himself a brace at the Serra Dourada. Their boss PC Gusmão looks set to cement his reputation as an excellent shoe-string coach. Another manager growing in stature is Jorginho; his Figueirense charges nicked a draw against Vasco, and are sitting pretty in sixth.

Série A results; Avaí 2-2 América-MG, Cruzeiro 1-1 Santos, São Paulo 3-1 Grêmio, Vasco 1-1 Figueirense, Bahia 1-1 Atlético-MG, Atlético-GO 4-1 Ceará, Internacional 2-2 Palmeiras, Corinthians 2-0 Fluminense, Atlético-PR 1-1 Flamengo, Botafogo 3-1 Coritiba.

(Photo credits; (1) Edson Lopes Jr, (2) Wagner Meier.)