RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- A sublime first-half strike from Inter Milan loanee Gabriel Barbosa fired Flamengo to a 1-0 home win over Santos on Saturday as the Rio de Janeiro giants extended their lead at the top of the Brazilian Serie A table.

Barbosa broke the deadlock on the stroke of halftime with a deft left-footed chip from 20 yards that looped into the net over goalkeeper Everson Marques.

The 23-year-old has now netted 30 goals in 40 matches across all competitions since joining Flamengo in January after a spell with Santos.

The result at the Maracana stadium left Flamengo three points clear of second-placed Palmeiras with 42 points from 19 matches. Santos fell one spot to third, five points off the pace.

"It was a difficult match with few scoring chances for both teams," Barbosa told SporTV after the match. "I'm rapt about the goal. [Flamengo goalkeeper] Diego Alves told me before the match that Everson [Marques] has a tendency to come off his line and that I might have a chance to lift a shot over him."

In other matches on Saturday, Vasco da Gama won 2-1 at Chapecoense and Palmeiras secured a 1-0 home win over Cruzeiro. Enditem