RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Igor Jesus continued his impressive scoring form with a first-half strike as leaders Botafogo edged to a 1-0 away win over Athletico Paranaense in Brazil's Serie A championship on Saturday.

Jesus gave the visitors the lead in the 14th minute by running onto Jefferson Savarino's perfectly weighted through ball and firing a first-time effort into the far corner.

The result at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba extended Botafogo's lead over second-placed Palmeiras to three points. Paranaense are 15th in the 20-team standings, 26 points further back.

It marked Botafogo's first victory over Paranaense in Curitiba for 16 years.

"It's never easy to come here and today was no exception," Botafogo manager Artur Jorge told a post-match news conference.

"Today it was very important for us to win. It wasn't a great spectacle and we were better in the first half than the second. But we were in control for most of the match."

Jesus, who has been called up to Brazil's squad for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Peru later this month, has now scored seven times for Botafogo since joining the club from Shabab Al Ahli in July.

In other Brazilian Serie A fixtures on Saturday, Cuiaba won 2-0 at home over Sao Paulo, Flamengo prevailed 2-0 at Bahia, Internacional drew 2-2 with Corinthians and Atletico Mineiro were held to a 2-2 home draw by Vitoria. Enditem

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