RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Paulinho Sampaio struck a 94th-minute winner as Atletico Mineiro kept their title hopes alive with a 2-1 home victory over Sao Paulo in Brazil's Serie A championship on Saturday.

It took until the 77th minute for the hosts to break the deadlock as former Brazil international forward Hulk fired home from distance following impressive link-up play from Cristian Pavon.

Luciano Neves equalized by converting a 91st-minute penalty after Mariano Ferreiro brought down Juan Silva.

In a dramatic finale, Paulinho restored Atletico's lead as he ran onto Hulk's clever pass before blasting a shot into the top left corner.

The result at the Mineirao stadium lifts Atletico to second in the 20-team standings, behind leaders Palmeiras on goal difference with one matchday remaining. Sao Paulo dropped to 10th, 16 points further back.

"This leaves us with a fighting chance to achieve our objective," Paulinho said. "We'll be relying on other results going our way but we have to do our part by winning our last match [against Bahia]."

In Saturday's only other Brazilian Serie A fixture, Internacional won 2-1 at Corinthians. Enditem

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