Ronaldo scored a goal in each half to lead Corinthians to a 3-1 win over Santos in the first leg of the Sao Paulo state championship final on Sunday. The goals marked Ronaldo's seventh and eighth goals in his last nine matches for Corninthians.

"The most important thing today was the result," said Ronaldo, who also scored the decisive goal in the semifinal against Sao Paulo last week. "It gives us a very good advantage ahead of the second match.''

It was Corinthians' first win against Santos at Vila Belmiro - the stadium where Pele made history with Santos in the early 1960s - since 2005. Corinthians and Santos are contesting the Sao Paulo state championship for the first time in 25 years, when Santos came out on top in the 1984 tournament.

 

Ronaldo, the Brazilian 2002 World Cup champion, had been out with a knee injury for more than a year before his Corninthians comeback. Read the original story...