RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Flamengo's Brazilian Serie A title hopes suffered a blow on Wednesday with a 3-0 home defeat to Athletico Paranaense.
Caca put the visitors ahead with a low finish and Flamengo's hopes of a comeback diminished in the 67th minute when Gabriel Barbosa was shown a straight red card for violent conduct.
Paranaense capitalized on their numerical advantage as Alex Santana thumped a long-range effort past goalkeeper Matheus Cunha.
Vitor Bueno put the result beyond doubt with a stoppage-time penalty after Everton Ribeiro brought down Romulo.
The result leaves Flamengo fourth with 39 points from 23 outings, 12 points behind leaders Botafogo, who have a game in hand. Paranaense rose to sixth in the 20-team standings, two points further back.
In the only other Brazilian Serie A fixture on Wednesday, Internacional edged to a 2-1 home win over Sao Paulo. ■
