Teenager Yuri Alberto fires Internacional to Brazil Serie A summit

SAO PAULO - Brazil under-23 striker Yuri Alberto scored three times in eight second-half minutes on Wednesday as Internacional jumped to the top of the Brazilian Serie A standings with a 5-1 victory at Sao Paulo.

Victor Cuesta put the visitors ahead with a header following a Moises Barbosa set piece and Caio Vidal made it 2-0, sweeping home a first-time effort after Alberto's precise through ball.

Luciano Neves pulled a goal back in the 36th minute by nodding in at the far post after a Dani Alves corner was flicked on by Reinaldo Silva.

Alberto restored Inter's two-goal advantage on the hour mark with a low strike after some shambolic Sao Paulo defending.

He struck again six minutes later by latching into a perfectly weighted Joao Peglow pass and rounding goalkeeper Tiago Volpi to fire his shot into an unguarded net.

The 19-year-old completed a stunning hat-trick two minutes later with a cool finish following a counterattack, taking his Serie A scoring tally this season to 10 goals in just 16 matches.

The result marked Internacional's seventh consecutive league victory and saw the Porto Alegre side overtake Sao Paulo at the top of the 20-team standings.

In other matches on Wednesday, Bragantino won 4-1 at home to Vasco da Gama, Fluminense drew 3-3 at Coritiba, Atletico Mineiro drew 1-1 at Gremio, Bahia won 1-0 at home to Athletico Paranaense and Atletico Goianiense won 3-1 at Botafogo.