Ronaldo scored twice to help Corinthians beat Santos 3-1 away in the first leg of the Sao Paulo state championship final on Sunday.

Pele was on hand in Sunday's match to watch his alma mater in a losing effort.

Corinthians wasted no time to get on the score board. In the 10th minute, Chicao took command of a free kick, expertly driving the ball into the left side of the goal. Fabio Costa, the Santos goalkeeper could only watch as it flew by.

In the 25th minute, Corinthians struck again. Off a rebound from Chicao's attempt on goal, Ronaldo appeared to clean up the leftovers, driving the ball into the Santos net at the despair of the home crowd.

Santos was finally able to get on the board in the 60th minute as Triguinho broke free down the left side of the field. Corinthian's own fullback, Felipe, helped out Santos as he accidentally deflected the ball into his own net.

To close out all scores, Ronaldo added one more goal. The most beautiful goal of the game and perhaps of his campaign at Corinthians came in the 75th minute.

At the top of the penalty box, the star forward dominated the ball, observed the irregular position Fabio Costa, and calmly chipped the ball over the defense and into a wide-open Santos net.

With Sunday's victory, Corinthians continues their 22 game undefeated streak in the state tournament.

Corinthians will enter next Sunday's return leg at home with a large advantage. They can afford to lose by a margin of two goals and still be able to claim ownership of this year's state tournament.