SAO PAULO — Defending champion Corinthians lost 2-0 to Gremio on Sunday, dropping to last place in the Brazilian league after its third defeat in four matches to start the season.
Ronaldinho made his debut with Atletico Mineiro on Saturday, helping his team reach second place in the 20-team standings with a 1-0 win over second-to-last place Palmeiras. Leader Vasco da Gama, last year's runner-up, beat Bahia 2-1 to become the only team to start with four straight victories.
Corinthians played at Gremio without most of its regular starters, who were rested for a clash against fellow Brazilian rival Santos on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores, Latin America's most important club competition.
Gremio won with goals by Marco Antonio in the 21st minute and Andre Lima in the 28th, picking up its third straight victory to move to third place in the standings. Corinthians coach Tite used only defender Fabio Santos in the starting lineup, hoping to give some rest to the regular starters ahead of the first-leg match against Santos in the Copa Libertadores.
"We will be under pressure to try to recover these points later," Tite said. "But we have to prioritize one of the competitions, we can't win all of them."
The team played with its top players in the 1-1 home draw against Figueirense last week, though. The five-time champion also lost to Fluminense in the opener and then fell to Atletico Mineiro.
Gremio is in the semifinals of the Brazilian Cup against Palmeiras but coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo played with most of his regular starters at the Olimpico stadium in the southern city of Porto Alegre. Gremio had opened with a loss at Vasco but recovered with victories at home against Palmeiras and then at Atletico Goianiense.
Former two-time world player of the year Ronaldinho played his first match with Atletico Mineiro, playing well in the team's 1-0 win over Palmeiras. Striker Jo scored the winner with a second-half header at the Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo. The result kept Luiz Felipe Scolari's Palmeiras winless in the competition.
Ronaldinho signed with Atletico last week after leaving Flamengo and suing the popular club for reportedly $20 million in unpaid wages. The former Brazil star has a contract with Atletico until the end of the year.
Flamengo also played Saturday, earning its first victory in the tournament with a 3-1 result against Coritiba at the Engenhao stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Vasco da Gama, the defending Brazilian Cup winner and the second-place finisher in last year's Brazilian league, defeated Bahia 2-1 in Pituacu on Sunday behind first-half goals by World Cup veteran playmaker Juninho and midfielder Diego Souza.
Vasco reached 12 points with its fourth victory in a row, opening a two-point lead over Atletico Mineiro.
Also Sunday, six-time champion Sao Paulo defeated Santos 1-0 at the Morumbi stadium in a match in which Santos was without Neymar and other regular starters because of the Copa Libertadores encounter with Corinthians.
In other matches, Fluminense was held by fourth-place Internacional to a 0-0 draw at the Engenhao despite the return of former Chelsea playmaker Deco, who had missed a series of matches because of a muscle injury. Cruzeiro beat Sport 1-0 in Belo Horizonte for its second straight victory, while Portuguesa won its first with a 2-0 result at home against Atletico Goianiense.
Follow Tales Azzoni at http://twitter.com/tazzoni