RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Argentine midfielder Ignacio Fernandez converted a stoppage-time penalty to fire reigning champions Atletico Mineiro to a 2-1 away victory over Santos in Brazil's Serie A championship on Wednesday.
Former Porto forward Hulk gave the visitors the lead with a cool 72nd-minute finish after combining with Claudio Gomes.
The hosts equalized through Marcos Leonardo, who held his nerve from the penalty spot after Angelo Gabriel was brought down by Junior Alonso in the 85th minute.
But Atletico refused to surrender and the momentum swung back in their favor when Santos right-back Nathan was shown a straight red card for fouling Fernandez inside the area.
The latter clinically dispatched the resultant spot-kick as Atletico secured their 12th win of the campaign.
The Belo Horizonte outfit now have 46 points from 30 games, 17 points behind leaders Palmeiras, who have a game in hand. ■
