Rio De Janeiro, Aug. 25 -- Sao Paulo continued its mid-season recovery with a 2-0 home win over Atletico Mineiro in Brazil's Serie A.

Pablo Maia opened the scoring in the 23rd minute by advancing unopposed into the box and lashing a low drive that beat goalkeeper Everson at his near post on Sunday.

Gonzalo Tapia extended the lead with a diving header after Cedric Soares played a clever one-two with Luciano.

Sao Paulo now has six wins and two draws from its past eight league matches, a run that has seen it rise from 16th to seventh in the 20-team standings.

"Things are going right for us and our players have shown great commitment," Sao Paulo manager Hernan Crespo told a post-match news conference.

"We have a squad that's hungry to win....