Goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni struck a 75th minute penalty for Muricy Ramalho's side to edge out Parana, who were knocked off the top of the table following Botafogo's 3-0 home win against Gremio on Saturday.

In Rio de Janeiro, Vasco da Gama also missed out on a chance to join Botafogo after being held to a 1-1 draw by local rivals Fluminense.

Abedi opened the scoring for Celso Roth's Vasco after 29 minutes, but Rafael equalised six minute before the break for understrength Fluminense, who face Figueirense in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil final on Thursday.

Marcelo's 77th minute strike rescued a 1-1 draw for Santos against Corinthians, who could also have leaped to the summit if they had held onto Zelao's 21st minute opener.

Ramires, Araujo and Roni handed Cruzeiro their first win of the season following a 3-1 victory against Palmeiras, while Barao, Da Silva and Andre gave Juventude their first three points of the campaign against newly-promoted America.

Flamengo shared a 2-2 draw at Sport Recife after Washington and Fumagalli cancelled out Renato's double for the hosts, while Copa Libertadores champions Internacional go in search of their first points of the campaign against Nautico on Monday.