RIO DE JANEIRO, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Mineiro continued their unbeaten start to the Brazilian Serie A season on Saturday with a 3-0 away victory over Cuiaba.
Chile international forward Eduardo Vargas put the hosts ahead in sweltering conditions at Arena Pantanal with a 28th-minute strike and Gustavo Scarpa doubled the advantage just after the hour.
Former Bayer Leverkusen winger Paulinho Sampaio put the result beyond doubt by converting a 78th-minute penalty.
The visitors were forced to play the last nine minutes with 10 men after Bruno Fuchs was shown two yellow cards in the space of five minutes.
"Cuiaba's style of play worked in our favor because they defended low, allowing us time and space to attack," Scarpa told reporters after the match.
"It's an important result given how tough and uncomfortable it is to play in this heat."
Atletico are now top of the 20-team standings with eight points from four outings while Cuiaba have lost each of their three games to date.
In other Brazilian Serie A fixtures on Saturday, Criciuma won 4-0 at Vasco da Gama and Bahia secured a 1-0 home victory over Gremio. ■
