Cicero gives Santos victory over Atletico

Cicero of Santos (Getty Images)

Sao Paulo, June 13 (IANS): A first-half strike from Cicero was enough to give Santos their first win of the Brasileirao season as they beat a 10-man Atletico Mineiro 1-0.

Cicero netted in the third minute at Santos’ Vila Belmiro Stadium Wednesday with a low shot from outside the area after Arouca’s clever assist, reports Xinhua.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men (79th minute) when Marcos Rocha was shown a straight red card for taking down Leo Citadini.

Atletico Mineiro playmaker Ronaldinho bemoaned the absences of defender Rever, midfielder Bernard and forward Jo, who are on international duty with Brazil’s Confederations Cup squad.

“We were missing some very important players and that didn’t make it easy,” the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year said.

The 33-year-old, who had little impact on the match, said Atletico would benefit from a two-week hiatus in the season for the Confederations Cup.

“Now we have a break which we are really looking forward to. We are going to use it to regroup.”

The result lifts Santos to 13th in Brazil’s Serie A standings with five points from as many matches while Atletico are 17th with four points.