Argentines fight but Scolari wins Porto Alegre derby

By Andrew Downie

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Two Argentine players were at the centre of a brawl on Sunday as Gremio beat Internacional 4-1 and leapfrogged their city rivals into the top four spots of Brazil's Serie A.

Alan Ruiz got Gremio's final two goals but celebrated the second of them too close to the Inter bench and was attacked by angry Inter players.

Compatriot Andres D'Alessandro then leapt to his defence by joining the fray and had to be pulled away as players from both teams scuffled.

Luan and Ramiro got Gremio's first two goals, before Rafael Moura pulled on back for the visitors.

The result was the perfect 66th birthday present for Gremio manager Luis Felipe Scolari, with the win taking his side to third in the league, behind champions Cruzeiro, who lead Sao Paulo by five points with five games left.

Cruzeiro conceded an early goal at home to bottom side Criciuma but came back to win 3-1, while Kaka and Luis Fabiano scored the goals that lifted Sao Paulo to a 2-1 win over Vitoria.

Atletico Mineiro, who beat Palmeiras 2-0 on Saturday, are in fourth. The top four qualify automatically for the Libertadores Cup, South America's equivalent of the Champions League.

At the other end of the table, Coritiba recorded a vital 1-0 win over Fluminense on Saturday to lift them out the relegation zone, while Botafogo and Vitoria both lost and look doomed to battle for survival until the final day.

Figueirense beat Chapecoense 1-0 in the Santa Catarina state derby to move five points clear of the bottom four.

In other matches, Corinthians beat rivals Santos 1-0 to move into fifth, Goias hammered second-bottom Bahia 3-0 at home, while Sport and Flamengo played out a middle of the table 2-2 draw.

(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)