Rio de Janeiro, Jun 23 (IANS): Peru international striker Paolo Guerrero scored a hat-trick as Flamengo routed Chapecoense 5-1 in Brazil's Serie A football championship.
The 33-year-old former Bayern Munich player on Thursday netted in the 19th minute before adding two more goals in the second half to take his 2017 season tally to 15 goals from 25 matches across all competitions, reports Xinhua news agency.
Former Atletico Madrid midfielder Diego also bagged a brace while Victor Ramos was on target for the visitors.
The result at Flamengo's Luso Brasileiro stadium lifted the Rio outfit to eighth in the 20-team standings with 14 points from nine matches. Chapecoense dropped to 10th, a point further back.
In other matches on Thursday, league leaders Corinthians romped to a 3-0 victory over Bahia, Ponte Preta defeated Cruzeiro 1-0 and Gremio overcame Coritiba 2-0.