Sao Paulo's Carlos Alberto sinks Santos

By Gareth Chetwynd

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Carlos Alberto scored the winning goal against his old club on Sunday as Sao Paulo marched to a 3-2 win over Santos in Brazil's biggest state championship.

Ponte Preta moved to top spot in the Sao Paulo championship standings on 19 points with a 1-0 win over Rio Preto.

Sao Paulo climbed into the top four, occupying a qualifying slot for the semi-final stage of the championship for the first time since it got under way a month ago.

Santos, the 2007 state champions, are languishing near the relegation zone with eight points from eight games.

The visitors survived early Sao Paulo pressure and took the lead when a defensive slip allowed Kleber Pereira a free run on goal.

Fabio Santos headed the equaliser and then Juninho took advantage of a poorly positioned wall to put Sao Paulo ahead.

Rodrigo Souto headed a Santos equaliser from a looping cross by Alemao, but sustained a head injury in the process.

Carlos Alberto's deflected effort gave Sao Paulo the points.