Rio de Janeiro, June 26 (IANS) Midfielder Willian scored either side of halftime as Cruzeiro defeated championship leaders Palmeiras 2-1 in Brazil's Serie A.
Willian's double on Saturday came after Brazil under-23 forward Gabriel Jesus gave the visitors the lead with his seventh goal from 11 matches this campaign, Xinhua news agency reported.
The result at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte relieved the pressure on Cruzeiro manager Paulo Bento, who reportedly offered to resign after the club's 2-0 defeat to Gremio a week ago.
The former Portugal manager has seen his team win their past two matches and rise to ninth in the standings.
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In Saturday's only other game, defending champions Corinthians defeated Santa Cruz 2-1 at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo. Luciano and Angel Romero scored for the hosts while Grafite was on target for the Recife outfit.
--IANS
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