Flamengo, who have won six of their last seven matches, are two points behind leaders and title holders Sao Paulo, who beat Vitoria 2-0 on Saturday, with three matches to go.
Their arch-rivals Fluminense, battling at the other end of the table to avoid relegation, picked up their sixth successive win in all competitions when they beat Atletico Paranaense 2-1 in Rio de Janeiro.
Internacional returned to the top four who qualify for next year's Libertadores Cup with a 3-1 home win over Santos.
Adriano, one of Brazil's domestically based players who missed the 1-0 friendly win over England in Doha so they could remain with their clubs for the championship run-in, added the second in first half stoppage.
He is now the championship's leading scorer with 19.
At the Maracana, former Olympique Lyon striker Fred took his tally to 10 in 10 matches as Fluminense notched their fourth consecutive league win. With 39 points, "Flu" are fourth from bottom two points from safety.
"We're battling to get out of this situation and everything's working out but we still have three more battles in the Brazilian (championship) and two in the Sudamericana," Fred told reporters.
"We can only celebrate this result until tomorrow."
