SAO PAULO
Jose Manuel Lopez scored twice as Palmeiras strengthened its position at the top of Brazil’s Serie A with a convincing 4-1 victory over Vasco da Gama.
Lopez opened the scoring shortly after halftime, while Vitor Roque converted a penalty and Mauricio added another goal before the hour mark. Lopez completed his second goal in the final minute, before Facundo Colidio scored a late consolation for Vasco.
The win moved Palmeiras to 51 points, six ahead of second-placed Flamengo, which has a match in hand. Vasco remained 19th with 22 points, leaving the club deep in the relegation zone.
Other Serie A results saw Coritiba beat Corinthians 2-1, Mirassol draw 1-1 at Santos, Chapecoense defeat Sao Paulo 1-0, Bragantino beat Gremio 1-0, and Bahia win 2-0 at Vitoria.
In Germany, Union Berlin also celebrated a strong comeback, defeating second-tier Eintracht Braunschweig 4-2 in the German Cup. Braunschweig twice took the lead through Max Marie, but Union answered each time. Substitute Marin Ljubicic then scored twice late, while Zeno Van Den Bosch and Tom Rothe also found the net. The victory gave new coach Mauro Lustrinelli a winning competitive debut. Union will next face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga next Saturday in their opening league match of the season. The result added further confidence to a busy weekend for Union.