Defending champions Cruzeiro saw their hopes of clinching a top-four place all but fade with a 1-1 draw at Palmeiras in Brazil's Serie A championship on Saturday. 

   Marcos Vinicius opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Paraguay international striker Lucas Barrios equalized with 19 minutes to go. 

   The result left the Belo Horizonte outfit seventh in the standings with 52 points, four points behind fourth-placed Sao Paulo, who have three matches remaining compared to Cruzeiro's two.

   The top four teams at the end of the season earn a berth in next year's Copa Libertadores - South America's elite club competition. 

   Sunday's matches included two major local derbies: Sao Paulo against already crowned champions Corinthians and Internacional against Gremio in Porto Alegre.  Endi

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