RIO DE JANEIRO, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Reigning champion Botafogo scored twice in each half to romp to a 4-0 home win over Internacional in Brazil's Serie A championship on Sunday.
The hosts opened the scoring when Jeffinho intercepted an errant defensive pass and found Igor Jesus, who took a touch before lashing a right-footed shot into the far corner.
Artur Guimaraes doubled the advantage on the stroke of halftime by running onto Marlon Freitas' lofted pass and thumping a first-time effort past an outstretched goalkeeper Anthoni Souza.
Cuiabano made it 3-0 with a rasping 25-yard drive after another long ball out of defense from Freitas.
Botafogo was in a ruthless mood, and Alex Telles completed the rout as he combined with Artur before sending a left-footed rocket from outside the area into the top-left corner.
"We know that we have to get better, but we're on the right track and feel that we're becoming more consistent at home," Artur told reporters after the match.
"We still have issues away from home, but the important thing is that we're doing what the manager has asked of us, which is to control possession, set the tempo and apply pressure on the opposition when we don't have the ball."
The result at Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Stadium leaves Botafogo eighth in the 10-team Serie A standings with 11 points from eight outings, eight points behind leader Palmeiras.
In other Brazilian top-flight fixtures on Sunday, Atletico Mineiro won 3-2 at home to Fluminense, Palmeiras secured a 1-0 home win over Sao Paulo and Cruzeiro prevailed 4-0 at Sport Recife. Enditem
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