RIO DE JANEIRO, May 22-- A first-half goal from forward Deyverson Acosta gave Cuiaba a 1-0 away victory over Cruzeiro in Brazil's Serie A championship on Monday.

Acosta put the visitors ahead by meeting Fernando Sobral's cross from the right wing and heading home at the near post.

Cruzeiro controlled 66% of the possession, completed almost twice as many passes as their rivals and had eight shots on target compared to Cuiaba's two.

But the Belo Horizonte outfit were unable to capitalize on their dominance as they suffered their third league defeat of the season so far.

The result leaves Cruzeiro fifth in the 20-team standings with 12 points from seven outings while Cuiaba are 14th, five points further back.