Cruzeiro edges Fortaleza to stay third in Brazil's Serie A

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A first-half strike from Christian Cardoso handed Cruzeiro a 1-0 home win over Fortaleza in Brazil's Serie A on Saturday.

Christian took a touch after Kenny Arroyo's cross before thumping a low drive into the bottom-left corner at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte.

The visitors pressed for an equalizer in the second half but were denied by a series of saves from goalkeeper Leo Aragao.

Cruzeiro remains third in the 20-team standings with 56 points, five behind leaders Palmeiras, while Fortaleza is 18th, 32 points further back.

"Kenny is a great one-on-one player and creates a lot of opportunities," Christian told reporters. "The manager [Leonardo Jardim] told me to try to get into the box as much as possible because I would have opportunities like that. Thankfully, I was in the right place at the right time."

In Saturday's only other Brazilian top-flight fixture, Maycon Barberan's second-half goal gave Corinthians a 1-0 victory over Atletico Mineiro. ■